Democracy leaders in Hong Kong on Aug 03, 2004

Democracy leaders in Hong Kong want China to open talks

POLITICAL REFORMS: Pro-democracy lawmakers say that dialogue between Beijing and its opponents is necessary for any future cooperation to take place
REUTERS , HONG KONG

Pro-democracy lawmakers in Hong Kong urged Beijing yesterday to open talks on democratic reforms, saying peace overtures from China were not enough to heal political tensions in the city.

Beijing angered many Hong Kong people recently when it spurned calls for more democracy, ruling out universal suffrage any time soon. But fearing a backlash against pro-China candidates in legislative elections in September, it has since tried to mend fences and take a more conciliatory stance.

It invited democracy legislators to an unprecedented armed forces parade in the city on Sunday, complete with tanks and helicopters, but a handful of lawmakers refused to attend.

"I'm in favor of a dialogue with the Chinese authorities, but this is not a dialogue and I don't think they had a chance to talk to anyone," said lawmaker Emily Lau , who did not show up.

"If there's an invitation for a dialogue, I will be happy to attend," she said.

Leung Yiu-chung, another no-show lawmaker, also called for discussion.

"If we're talking about communication, it has nothing to do with such ceremonies [as the military parade]," said Leung, a trades unionist and a very popular figure with the grassroots. "We must talk, be ready to understand and make compromises."

Beijing has said it would consider face-to-face talks with the democrats, but that would mean officially recognizing pro-democracy parties as a political force within China, a huge step for the Communist Party.

Even if direct talks occur, political analysts said neither side was likely to change its basic position.

Although China has said it will not allow full direct elections in Hong Kong in 2007, democracy forces here have not given up that demand in their election platforms.

"We want political reforms and it won't be acceptable if Beijing continues to ignore that. On the other hand, we must also address Beijing's worries, both sides must give way," Leung said.

"Beijing can't give us nothing, give us zero."

Beijing fears that the city's calls for democracy will spread to China, or even escalate into a movement for independence.

It tried stifling these aspirations by verbally attacking key democracy figures earlier this year, but that alienated more people and the popularity ratings of Chinese leaders and their supporters in Hong Kong soon plummeted.

For the first time, democracy candidates have a chance at winning majority control of the 60-member legislature in September -- something Beijing will not want to see.

Analysts say Sunday's display of military might was aimed at bolstering a sense of Chinese patriotism and helping pro-China candidates in the elections.

Although Beijing appears less hostile, its relationship with democracy lawmakers has not improved, Leung said.

"We have to see how we communicate in future and if we can cooperate," Leung said.

Lau said the political mood in Hong Kong can hardly be described as good. She received a phone call two weeks ago from an unidentified man threatening to chop off her head and hang it outside the council building.

TSU to campaign for `rectified name'

STRATEGY: The party announced that it would also prioritize writing a new constitution, and that Huang Chu-wen was unanimously re-elected as TSU chairman

TAIPEI , CNA

The Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) will have "writing a new constitution for a new Taiwan and a rectified name for the new country" as its campaign theme in the year-end legislative elections, a TSU official said yesterday.

TSU Secretary-General Lin Chih-chia made the announcement after the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said its campaign theme would be to end the influence of opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Lien Chan and People First Party (PFP) Chairman James Soong in politics.

Lin said that although the TSU is an ally of the DPP, it will have its own campaign theme to solicit as much support as possible for the pan-green camp.

He said that the DPP was taking the right approach with its theme, while the TSU's theme of changing the national name and writing a new Constitution was aimed at raising Taiwanese consciousness and solidifying a sense of national identity.

TSU Legislator Cheng Cheng-lung also proposed that the TSU and the DPP should establish a communication platform to avoid internal pan-green camp rivalry.

Lin said that this is a priority, citing the example of the Kaohsiung City Council by-election as an example, saying that if the candidates of two allied parties attack each other, they can easily be defeated.

The TSU has nominated 27 out of a scheduled 29 candidates for the year-end legislative elections, Lin said.

The by-election in Kaohsiung, the last election battle prior to the legislative elections and widely seen as a litmus test of the strengths of the various political parties, saw the TSU gain three seats out of the 18 seats contested, while all four candidates of the PFP failed.

Despite the DPP being the largest party in the 225-seat legislature, the pan-greens currently lag slightly behind the pan-blue alliance.

Meanwhile, the TSU's central executive committee decided yesterday that Chairman Huang Chu-wen should continue to serve as head of the party.

As there was only one candidate for the TSU chairmanship, the party decided not to hold a vote. Huang only needed to obtain support from more than half of the committee members in line with the party's regulations. Huang had unanimous support.

Huang has served as a legislator and as an interior minister.

With high confidence for good results in the year-end legislative elections, Huang predicted earlier this year that the pan-green camp would gain more than 55 percent of the legislature's 225 seats. If this were to happen, it could eliminate the opposition's blockade of bills proposed by the DPP administration.