By Cormac McCartan Aug 21, 2014 1:44PM UTC
People fill in a street during a march at an annual pro-democracy protest in downtown Hong Kong on July 1. Pic: AP.
Although Sunday’s pro-Beijing march through the streets of Hong Kong resembled more of an all-inclusive sightseeing tour with transport, group leaders and a paid lunch provided for all, the demonstration was an outright show of strength from Beijing that could be the writing on the wall for Hong Kong’s hopes of true democracy.
The political drama that has played out in the ex-British colony over the summer months is nearing its critical juncture this coming week when the National People’s Congress Standing Committee (NPC) will meet in Beijing. The NPC will outline the guidelines for the 2017 election, which will determine whether Hong Kong will have the right to nominate its own candidates and elect its own leader.
As it stands, Beijing has permitted Hong Kong to hold elections to decide its own chief executive in 2017, a big step for the Communist Party of China (CPC). However, the kicker is that all candidates must be chosen by a nominating committee that is stacked in Beijing’s favour and can potentially allow the CPC decide who the candidates will be. In the opinion of Hong Kong democrats, this therefore renders the 2017 “democratic” elections meaningless, and backtracks on Beijing’s previous promise in 2007 to allow Hong Kong universal suffrage to elect their own chief executive in 2017.
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