Opinion | Hong Kong democracy and foreigners

By Leung Chun-ying

This talk is about Hong Kong democracy and foreigners.

Jimmy Lai has been labeled by the International media as the top Democrat in Chinese Hong Kong. But Jimmy Lai is not a Chinese national. He is a full British citizen and something that he doesn’t discuss much. The timing was interesting. In 1997 when Hong Kong became Chinese, Jimmy Lai became British.

So what is the definition of “democracy” in Chinese Hong Kong where the master-mind, the banker, and the loud-hailer of the so-called democratic movement Jimmy Lai, is British?

If Jimmy Lai sounds strange, I have something else for you. Foreigners are entitled to vote in Hong Kong provided that person, barring migrant workers has lived here continuously for 7 years or more and has therefore become a permanent resident.

Yes, the process is very easy. And there is no allegiance requirement. OK, so in the Hong Kong design of democracy, there are foreign voters? Correct. But wait. We also allow foreigners to occupy up to 20% of the seats in our Legislative Council, the law-making body that has much wider powers than any other city-legislature in the world.

Foreign voters and foreigners in the legislature? Yes, it is allowed by the Hong Kong Basic Law. The so-called democrats cry out for the so-called genuine democracy. But then, no genuine democracies have foreigners in their legislature and foreign voters in the election process. All very peculiar. I know. So to all the do-gooders, the know-alls, and the holier-than-thous, I say this, "Hong Kong is not a copy of parliamentary democracy. We are not a copy of anyone. And we shouldn’t be."

Beijing gave us the unique “ One country, two systems” deal. We took it 31 years ago with our eyes wide open. And to all those who keep pushing hard on the Hong Kong democracy envelope, I have a word of caution, be careful, you never know when the envelop breaks and what drops out of it.

Thank you

Leung Chun-ying is the former Chief Executive of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government, Vice-Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.

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