星島日報| A10 | 每日雜誌 | 慎思而行 | 龍家麟

It is not easy to position the political middle ground clearly in Hong Kong. The mid-point between the Pro-establishment and the Pan-democrats is not a comfortable position nor a successful formula to win elections. Many asks if the political middle ground has any chance of rising, gain mass support and if it has any chance of growing in future! A less polite and more direct way to ask the same question is: “… what are you and where do you stand?” A friend of Path of Democracy, Dr Derek Yuen Mi-Chang criticized both the Pro-establishment and the Pan-democrats for their lack of vision and of their action: “… one side listens to Beijing exclusively and the other side is held hostage by the ‘Five Demands, Not-one-less’ narrative. When being attacked and asked why he cannot come up with a coherent political narrative of the political middle ground, Dr Yuen said: “… even I came up with a blank!” Looking ahead, the en masse resignation of the Pan-Democrats legislator will not make life easier for the moderate political middle ground in Hong Kong. Those left behind in Legco and in politics are more likely to be attacked and treated as spineless and two-faced politicians, rather than ‘hope and future’ of Hong Kong.

Hong Kong should face the world with a new blueprint and new roadmap

I joined the Hong Kong Democratic Foundation in 1989, hoping to learn how Hong Kong was governed from the late Sir Jimmy McGregor, who was the Director of Trade of the Hong Kong Government and the Director General of The Hong Kong General Chamber before becoming a legislator. I also witnessed the democratic development of Hong Kong, from the first direct election of Legco in 1992 to probably the lowest point in the political reform journey Hong Kong is now experiencing. The moderate middle ground has always had very little room to maneuverer in a political ecosystem dominated by the hostility between the two extremes – the anti-China and the pro-China groups. Yet, many ruling parties in the world such as the Christian Democrats of Germany are unwaveringly middle-of-the-road parties and not the political middle ground described by Professor Simon Shen as by-standers or a “Permissible Loyal Oppositions” that will never become the ruling party. In the Hong Kong context, moderate political groups could take up more proactive and constructive roles. For example, to articulate the “Middle Ground” political narrative the majority of Hong Kong population could subscribe to. The moderates could also build convening power and mediation power to help resolve political differences in Hong Kong. Or even, to reach out to “Middle Ground” political spectrum described by Prof. Simon Shen (i.e. Group Two to Five: ‘Light Blue’, ‘Light Yellow’, ‘Dark Yellow’ and “Overseas Hong Kongers”); but I do agree with Prof. Shen that it is possible for the middle ground to persuade the two extremes of Hong Kong’s political spectrum (i.e. the First Group: Dark Blue/Dark Red and the Sixth Group, those who are wanted by the Police under the National Security Law and are in exile overseas) to find grounds for cooperation. Indeed, Hong Kong’s constitution arrangement and the Basic Law could limit the role of the middle ground and they may not become the most influential party or ruling party of Hong Kong. However, the middle ground parties do have substantial convening and problem-solving power.

The middle ground could try to articulate “The New Hong Kong Story’ — their vision for a liberal and successful Hong Kong under the framework of One Country Two Systems (1C2S). They must promise to defend 1C2S and must acquire the capacity to lobby the Central Government in Beijing to continuing 1C2S beyond 2047.  Someone had said that democratic development in Hong Kong would only take place after 1997. In anticipating the future of Hong Kong, the middle ground could take up the following roles:

  1. Propose a blueprint for Hong Kong’s future political development as part of China and the role of Hong Kong in the national development agenda;
  2. Take the cue from Li Xiao-jia’s (CEO OF Hong Kong Stock Exchange) and to maximize Hong Kong’s advantage and position as China’s most internationalized city and to develop and consolidate HK’s irreplaceable role in China’s national development agenda in the next 30 years;
  3. Consolidate the core value of HK as a multicultural, multi-faith,  multi-language, free and opened city and to promote HK as the “Rainbow-coloured Hong Kong of China” to the international community;
  4. Focus on long-term research and development that is beneficial to HK’s. In particular developing the policy-making knowhow, talent training and introducing soft skills (e.g. The Future Centres of the Netherlands and Evidence-based Policy Making Process of Singapore) to address and the resolve consensus-building issue in the current policy-making process in Hong Kong.

If we were to use colour to describe the political middle ground, then it would be ‘Light Green’ (a mix of ‘Light Blue’ and ‘Light Yellow’) and ‘Rainbow Colour’ (embodiment of HK’s die-hard liberalism). The middle ground is not passive and does not beg for Beijing’s intervention on local issues when they could be resolved locally. The middle ground, however, needs to coordinate the democratic aspirations of the ‘Light Yellow’ and ‘Dark Yellow’ and delivering a proposal that largely fits each camp’s vision for democratic development. At the same time, the middle ground must use its convening power to lobby all sides to accept the China’s sovereignty and to align Hong Kong democratic aspirations with the nation’s aspirations for development. Only by doing so could the middle ground help sustain Hong Kong’s democratic movement and political development.