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However, when the news of the adoption of this proposal spread to Hong Kong, furore arose. On the one hand, Louis CHA and a group of lecturers and professors from tertiary institutions had a heated debate on the meaning and definition of universal franchise and indirect election. On the other hand, the Liberals, the Group of 89 from the commercial and industrial sectors and some groups that had submitted their views to the Drafting Committee were against 'Louis Cha's mainstream proposal' at various degrees. The liberals from the Joint Committee on the Promotion of Democratic Government mobilized the public to take part in a sit-in hunger strike in front of the new China News Agency building. The Group of 89 from the commercial and industrial sectors sent a delegation to Beijing to request discussions on the 'mainstream proposal'. Other groups (known as the Moderates) called a joint meeting to discuss the 'mainstream proposal.'
Several questions concerning the theory and concept were involved in this incident.
Throughout the consultation process, the Joint Committee on the Promotion of Democratic Government (JCPDG) insisted that 50% or above of the seats of the Legislature should be directly elected and the Chief Executive should be nominated by one-tenth of the members of the Legislature and elected by the whole population on a one-person-one-vote basis. During the consultation period, members of JCPDG held that democracy is a matter of principle that does not allow 'bargaining' and insisted that the principle of direct elections should be adhered to. There was such an argument in the commentary entitled 'A proposal for the Liberals' in Ming Pao (the Director of which is Mr. Louis CHA) on 1 December:
'Leaders of the Liberals in Hong Kong put forward the slogan "direct elections on a one-person-one-vote basis”. This slogan seems not to be quite all right because one-person-one-vote can both be very democratic and undemocratic. The key factor is the actual contents of the elections. There is no necessary link between democracy and the form of election.'
On some other days, commentaries with such titles as 'there are few chiefs that are directly elected', 'how democratic countries elect their chief executives' and 'no chief executive of a single country is directly elected' etc. were published, thus resulting in much controversy. I would try to make some explanations on the theory and concept that are involved in these arguments, including the relationship between democracy and election and the definitions of direct election, indirect election and universal franchise.
Relationship between democracy and election:
Generally speaking, if a government is formed by means of elections, it will be regarded as a democratic government and thus it will have the legality in the minds of the people. If not, it will be regarded as an undemocratic government and its legality will call in question. Hence, in the minds of the general public, the relationship between election and democracy is basically the relationship between ends and means and that between methods and objectives. Election is regarded as the method and means to promote and bring about democracy. To have democracy is to recognize people as the master of the state and to recognize that the people have the right to decide public affairs that concern them. However, as society is so large and complex, when public affairs have to be decided and implemented, it is impossible for all members of society to participate. Therefore, the only way is to delegate the related powers to a small group of people to form a representative government. Then it is necessary to establish an election system so that the people can decide who are going to exercise the power through election procedures. Judging from this angle, we can highlight the fundamental basis of western democratic political pattern of representative government. This also reflects that election is not the realization of democracy. On the contrary, it is merely a remedial and expedient measure to make up for the impossible realization of democracy.
Direct election, indirect election, universal franchise and limited franchise represent different concepts. Direct and indirect elections are the electoral process while universal and limited franchises mean eligibility for voters.
Direct election--A process whereby voters, on a one-person-one-vote basis, directly elect one or more candidates to public offices by majority vote. Indirect election—A process whereby voters first elect their representatives on a one-person-one-vote basis, and subsequently these representatives elect, at their own discretion, one or more candidates among themselves to certain public offices on a one-person-one-vote basis.
Universal franchise-Apart from having attained a minimum age and possessing citizenship, there are no other requirements in order to qualify as a voter.
Limited franchise-Apart from the above requirements, voters also need to satisfy other requirements in order to be eligible for voting.
These concepts form the basis for analysing some arguments.
After the five-month consultation period, more than 72,000 submissions on the 'Draft Basic Law for Solicitation of Opinions' had been dealt with. More than 66,000 of them were letters jointly signed by people motivated by the Joint Committee on the Promotion of Democratic Government. Of course, the views contained in these letters were mostly on the side of the Joint Committee on the Promotion of Democratic Government, which proposed that 50% of the members of the Legislature and the Chief Executive of the HKSAR be elected on a one-person-one-vote basis.
After the completion of the consultation exercise, various political groups continued to meet together with a view to reaching a consensus before the meeting of the BLDC's political sub-group. On the night of 12 November, Mr. Louis CHA Leung-yung, the Co-convenor of the political sub-group, met the leaders of the Joint Committee on the Promotion of Democratic Government in
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