Elite politics can serve common people in HK

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Elite politics can serve common people in HK

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As today is the policy address day, many have commented on the political regime of Hong Kong against the past unstable 2 years. Lau Siu Kau posted his view in following urging for elite politics still beneficial.

Lau Siu-kai says the EC's new structure will ensure that the general population's needs are better met In all advanced societies, there are two political arenas: the elite political arena and the popular political arena. In the elite arena, the players are primarily the elites, featuring elite rivalries and competition, whereas in the popular arena, both the elites and the common people can participate, with public opinion and mass
actions carrying much political weight. The balance between these two arenas varies across different societies. If the elite arena dominates, important decisions are made primarily by the elites, which cater largely to their interests. On the contrary, if the popular arena holds sway, the well-being of the common people will be better taken care of. As a society democratizes, the popular arena will expand at the expense of the elite arena, and policies benefiting the common people will increasingly be made by the ruling elites.

Interestingly, the experiences of the United States and Hong Kong offer counterevidence to this orthodox view among Western political scientists. In the case of the US, enlargement of the popular arena has in fact increased the power and advanced the interests of the elites. Larry Bartels, an American political scientist, in his Unequal Democracy (2008), convincingly shows that in the US, elected officials respond to the views of affluent
constituents. Another American scholar, Martin Gilens, in his Affluence and Influence (2012), with an impressive range of data, demonstrates that America's policymakers respond almost exclusively to the preferences of the economically advantaged. Most Western scholars attribute the cause of this growing disparity between the advantaged and the disadvantaged to the increasing clout of the pro-elite interest groups, parties and elections.
And money politics is rated as the major reason for the increasing dominance of the elites and the growing disconnect between the elites and the common people. The rise of populism and growing disillusionment of the Western public with Western democracy are the unmistakable results of this disconnect.

Compared with the US experience, Hong Kong's experience is also peculiar and unique, albeit in the opposite sense. Increasing democratization in Hong Kong after its return to the motherland has vastly enlarged the popular arena, producing in its wake a weak and ineffective government, a bellicose political opposition, a growing impact of public and media opinion, the increasing role of mass actions and protests in shaping public policy, and the rise of political populism. Nevertheless, the expansion of the popular arena has not led to the improvement of the well-being of the common people. Why? Because the government is too weak to make and execute policies that cater to the interests of the man on the street. The incessant political struggles within the popular arena have compelled the governing elites to focus narrowly on political issues, while the problems pertaining to public well-being have been sadly pushed aside. Consequently, the enlargement of the popular arena in Hong Kong has spawned increasing social grievances and political discontent, which in turn has become a hotbed for political turmoil, as witnessed in the violent uprising in Hong Kong during 2019-20.

The reform of the electoral system of Hong Kong decided by Beijing in early 2021 in practice has rebalanced the elite arena and the popular arena in the city in favor of the former. The revamped Election Committee, which will elect the chief executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, elect 40 of the 90 legislators and serve as the nominators for all the candidates in the Legislative Council elections, is a powerful body made up of elites from different social sectors and social classes. Its political representativeness has substantially widened to incorporate more interests from the grassroots, labor, small and medium-sized enterprises and traditional patriotic societies, whereas its predecessor is largely dominated by the large enterprises and elite professionals. Moreover, the new Election Committee is completely made up of patriots who wholeheartedly support
Beijing and its policies toward Hong Kong
.
Source:China Daily Hong Kong Edition | Circulation 2021-09-29 by Lau Siu-kai

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