'Beijing Doesn't Trust the People of Hong Kong'

Former Hong Kong second-in-command Anson Chan has launched a new pressure group to campaign for universal suffrage in the former British colony, amid growing signs that Beijing is unlikely to move forward with full, direct elections for the city's legislature and chief executive any time soon. Former chief secretary Chan, who still commands huge popular support among Hong Kong people, told a news conference that veteran politicians, including those once regarded as pro-Beijing, are worried about the territory's future under Chinese rule:

We are at a crucial point if we are to make universal suffrage a reality. The chief executive is still doing nothing about it, and what's more, he has refused to put a timetable for the political reform proposals before the citizens of Hong Kong. This means we have lost a lot of valuable time.

There are only a few months left in which to gather different opinions on how we should elect the the chief executive in 2017 and the Legislative Council elections in 2020, including hearing from the business community, various civic groups, and the voice of young people. [We will] gather these into a dossier and submit it to the government.

The chief executive [C.Y. Leung] has done nothing so far to promote political reforms, which is why we have set up this group to promote democracy, and to communicate with different sectors of society through different media. We want to be sure that we are getting a broad-based and fair consensus.

There are no preconceived notions. The bottom line is that we must make sure that our final dossier adheres to the core principles of fairness and universality. We would very much like to have a dialogue with the central government [in Beijing], but our biggest problem at the moment is that the central government doesn't trust that Hong Kong people have the wisdom to use their personal votes to elect a chief executive that is acceptable to Beijing.

Asked if she had the support of overseas governments, or if she had plans to run for chief executive herself, Chan said:

We have never accepted [financial] help from overseas, and we won't in the future. I will be offering some financial assistance, as will some people who care about this cause. I am doing this entirely for Hong Kong, not for myself.

Only through universal elections can we boost the level of public acceptance of the chief executive, and preserve our way of life and our core values, including the rule of law and protection for freedom and human rights.

If anyone has an opinion about me, the fairest thing to do would be to communicate with me more. Maybe some people are just reflecting the views of the central government.

Reported by Lin Jing for RFA's Cantonese service. Translated and written in English by Luisetta Mudie.