Hundreds of thousands of Hong Kong residents over the weekend signed their names in a citywide campaign to express their desire for universal suffrage in the 2017 Chief Executive (CE) election.
Many of them also filled out voter registration forms at more than 900 street stands in a publicity drive organized by the alliance of over 1,000 civic organizations in support of the SAR government's constitutional reform proposal.
Hong Kong's constitutional development is at a very critical moment right now. The Legislative Council (LegCo) will determine whether the method of selecting the next CE by universal suffrage proposed by the SAR government will be adopted before the summer recess. If LegCo passes the government's electoral reform package, more than 5 million eligible voters will be able to elect the CE by "one person, one vote" in 2017. If the proposal is voted down, Hong Kong people will have to wait for years to start the whole process all over again.
The fear of not being able to elect the CE by universal suffrage in 2017 is very real because opposition LegCo members have vowed to veto the SAR government's constitutional reform plan despite strong public demand. Numerous opinion polls in recent months showed clear majority support for implanting universal suffrage in the 2017 CE election. But those "pan-democrat" lawmakers are showing no interest in heeding the public wish. That is why so many civic groups throughout Hong Kong have joined forces in the massive signature campaign to remind the 27 opposition lawmakers what they are up against.
The two-day campaign in support of the government's electoral reform proposal is yet another powerful confirmation of undeniable popular desire for universal suffrage as prescribed in the Basic Law and relevant decisions of the National People's Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC). In two days time, more than 360,000 local residents had signed their signatures despite the heavy rain. This is real people's power and the "pan-democrats" can ignore it only at their own peril.
It is worth noting that CE Leung Chun-ying on Friday informed a visiting US congressional delegation that the SAR government's electoral reform proposals are in strict compliance with the Basic Law and NPCSC decisions.
Hong Kong residents can count on the central government and mainland compatriots for always doing their best to help them with or without foreign powers' approval. Hong Kong's destiny is firmly tied to that of the nation, not the interests of foreign parties.
