Blame adversarial politics, not Leung Chun-ying, for Hong Kong’s polarised society
Ho Lok Sang says Hong Kong must heed public interest to heal itself, as universal suffrage has been disproved as a panacea. However, the signs are not encouraging
With the Hong Kong chief executive election drawing near, pan-democrats had been calling for “ABC”: “Anyone but CY”. Now that Leung Chun-ying has declared he won’t be seeking a second term, pan-democrats are claiming victory in this leg of the struggle. But many warn that another CY could be elected.
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From day one, Leung was the straw man, to be jeered, labelled a wolf and ridiculed, and blamed for almost every ill. He is held responsible for the polarisation of Hong Kong, but polarisation is not unique to this city. Donald Trump, just named Person of the Year by Time , was described on the cover as: “President of the Divided States of America.” On October 3, broadcaster DW ran the headline, “Opinion: Polarised Germany”to mark the Day of German Unity. Even Taiwan’s president, Tsai Ing-wen, who came to power with the support of pro-independence groups, has seen her popularity plummet after soured relations with the mainland hit the island’s economy.
A photo from Leung Chun-ying’s blog shows him posing with the Ikea soft toy named Lufsig, which became his namesake in late 2013. Photo: SCMP Pictures
If Hong Kong heeds the lesson from the Leung administration’s past five years, and starts working on its best interests, the city will have a better tomorrow. Unfortunately, the signs are not good.
A Facebook group formed to target Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee, who has indicated she will run for chief executive, calls her just another “689” (the number of votes Leung gained in becoming chief executive) I watched a video that tries to mobilise support against Ip. The reason? She has the support of Beijing. And after Chief Secretary Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor indicated she might join the race, a caricature of her as Leung started circulating on the internet.
President-elect Donald Trump of the “Divided States of America” on the cover of Time as the magazine’s Person of the Year. Photo: Reuters
All this attests to the damaging effects of adversarial democracy, which discourages people from considering the long-term, wider interests of society, with “public interest” put on the back burner.
The past five years are proof that adversarial politics only ends up polarising the community
