2 October 2014
Could mainland China not seek eventual convergence towards a democratic system, respectful of the full gamut of human rights? That actually is what the happenings in Hong Kong now are about.
The flag of Hong Kong suspended over protesters
The flag of Hong Kong suspended over protesters. Demotix/Xian Jun. All rights reserved.
If there is one place under Chinese sovereignty that enjoys freedom of assembly, freedom of the press (albeit eroding) and other attendant freedoms and where the residents zealously fight to safeguard them, it is Hong Kong.
Under the Sino-British Joint Declaration of 1984, China undertook to let Hong Kong keep its way of life unchanged for 50 years after the handover on 1 July 1997 under the “One Country, Two Systems” formula.
The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (as it is known since 1997) retains an independent judiciary. Many judges from other common law jurisdictions serve in the city’s highest courts.
The Basic Law (Hong Kong’s post-handover constitutional document) stipulates that international human rights treaties and other labour rights instruments which were extended to Hong Kong, when it was under British sovereignty, would continue to apply.
Thus the provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) are regularly invoked in Hong Kong’s courts. The Chinese government, assisted by Hong Kong authorities, is periodically called upon by treaty bodies to report the progress made in implementing or adhering to the ICCPR, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, the Convention on the Rights of the Child and others.
Article 25 of the ICCPR states that: “Every citizen shall have the right and the opportunity … (a) To take part in the conduct of public affairs, directly or through freely chosen representatives; (b) To vote and to be elected at genuine periodic elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret ballot, guaranteeing the free expression of the will of the electors…”
And Article 45 of Hong Kong’s Basic Law says: “The ultimate aim is the selection of the Chief Executive by universal suffrage upon nomination by a broadly representative nominating committee in accordance with democratic procedures.”
