While China works to neutralize Hong Kong’s pro-democracy opposition, it is also giving the green light to a new political party that offers a glimpse into how Beijing could change the territory in the coming years.
Named for the flower on Hong Kong’s flag, the Bauhinia Party was founded last May by Western-educated businessmen born on the mainland with ties to the Communist Party. While still small, according to Charles Wong Chau-chi, one of the co-founders, the group consulted officials from the Hong Kong government, the liaison office – Beijing’s main body that oversees the city – and relevant offices in China.
In an interview, Wong said that while the party has never formally requested the approval of those Chinese agencies, “we believe there is no reason they do not want to support us.”
The party’s goal, he added, was to support people to run for the chief executive position, which is up for grabs next year when Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam’s first term ends. One possibility is Li Shan, the party’s chairman, who is the chief executive of Silk Road Finance Corp. Ltd., a board member of Credit Suisse AG and a delegate to the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, an advisory body to Beijing. Li declined an interview request.
Wong said Li would only be interested in becoming Hong Kong’s next leader if he is “obliged and asked, not necessarily willing.” The Bauhinia party, Wong said, is not yet ready to participate in the September Legislative Council elections, which were postponed for a year due to the pandemic.
The group’s formation at a time when China is being criticized in the West for imprisoning democracy advocates hints at an attempt by Beijing to refine a curated version of electoral politics that gives the Communist Party the ultimate right of veto. Chinese authorities last year passed a sweeping national security law that has been used to restrict freedom of speech, while also imposing a patriotism test to disqualify pro-democracy lawmakers – a move that spurred opposition members in the Legislative Council to step down en masse in November.
‘Competing for Blessings’
The rise of the Bauhinia Party indicates one multi-party system that “competes for blessings and a show of loyalty and devotion to whoever is in charge in Beijing,” said Kenneth Chan, Associate Professor at Hong Kong Baptist University.
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Any attempt by Beijing to further tighten its grip on Hong Kong would be an early test for US President Joe Biden, who has vowed to support democracy advocates in the former British colony. A former leader in Hong Kong recently formed a link with Beijing suggested that the next chief executive should be decided in consultation next year, rather than through a committee of 1,200 people. In any case, Beijing can veto any winner who doesn’t like it.
The Bauhinia Party platform says it aims to ‘respect one country,’ nurture ‘two systems, and protect Hong Kong’s core values of freedom, democracy and the rule of law. But while that sounds consistent with the moderate pro-democracy camp in Hong Kong, the group’s diagnosis of the problems in the area echoes Beijing’s.
Bauhinia Party is named after the flower on the Hong Kong flag.
Photographer: Paul Yeung / Bloomberg
Wong said the root causes of the 2019 unrest “had nothing to do with China,” pointing to factors such as expensive housing, poor local governance and an opposition that he said was “tearing apart the social fabric and anger everyone.” The national security law, he added, was “capable of helping to stabilize Hong Kong” and did not affect “one country, two systems” – the framework that guaranteed the territory’s autonomy for 50 years after Britain’s former colony in 1997. .
Wong explained a series of policy proposals that he said would help strengthen Hong Kong’s economy over the coming decades: “One country, two systems” needs to be expanded for another 50 years. Young people should learn more about China, study Mandarin and spend time working on the mainland. Hong Kong should take advantage of the Greater Bay Area, Beijing’s plan to link the territory with Macau and neighboring Shenzhen, home to Huawei Technologies Co. And the city should implement a proposal on universal suffrage approved by Beijing.
Perhaps the hardest problem, Wong said, was expensive housing. High real estate prices affected everyone, he said, raising the cost of living and making Hong Kong “less and less competitive.” The party platform is calling for “ bold solutions ” including land and water reclamation, agricultural land repurposing, co-development of land with the nearby cities of Shenzhen and Zhuhai, and conversion of land parks that are now about 40% of Hong Kong’s total land area.
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“Land supply is not a problem,” said Wong. The challenge, he added, was to find “a common denominator shared by everyone to really push your housing program through”.
While it’s unclear whether the Bauhinia Party can gain much traction, the current Beijing-friendly groups in Hong Kong have turned down its chances of winning elections. “Business will not invest their resources in new parties with no political influence and little prospect of winning seats in LegCo or at the district level,” said Regina Ip, a pro-establishment legislator.
Wong said the party aims to eventually have as many as 250,000 members. He added that the party’s communication with the Chinese government was likely to be “quite fluid”, saying it was “stupid” for critics to say it had Beijing’s support.
“A lot of people are trying to tell us if we are from China,” Wong said. “I think they really miss the point. We have to see if we are for Hong Kong or not. And China is there to help, but the bottom line is, there are red lines. “