Debbie Cheung says HK can expect the newly elected Election Committee members to proactively engage with the public and listen to the true needs of our people

The 2021 Election Committee Subsector Ordinary Elections was just a first step in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region’s much-needed political reform, not only on the electoral system, but the entire administration environment – the EC election has laid a solid foundation for a more people-oriented government and a more efficient system of checks and balances. 

It is dangerous to overly embrace the status quo, fixated on what “we used to have” believing that would be the best for us, yet forget to truly reflect on whether the existing system could bring us to the ultimate goal of public administration – making people’s lives better. Looking back at the past two-plus decades in Hong Kong, it is evident that the old system was running purely by the book, leaving ample freedom for political slapstick that distracted real groundwork; no one would deny that Hong Kong has fundamental issues, yet it wasn’t until the central government implemented the principle of “patriots administer HK” that we cleared space to face our fundamental issues head-on. For those who think that the improved electoral system is a major step back in democratic progression, I urge you to think twice; do not fall too comfortably on what we used to have, and forget to ask ourselves, “shall we heading the right direction or shall we simply fall back on a vicious cycle of clown show?”

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The Election Committee members elected from the improved electoral system are facing unprecedented transparency in their performance. The increase in district representatives from the fourth sector and the newly introduced fifth sector, of which deputies and members of national organizations fall within, both belong to a body that monitors their performance closely and publicly. Hong Kong can only expect these EC members to proactively engage with the public, listening to the true needs of our people and finding the right path in electing our next CE in Hong Kong’s best interests. The city of inclusiveness and resilience needs to put down any bias for a moment, so that the public can work together with the newly elected EC members for a bright future that serves the interests of every citizen.

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The author is chairman of the Youth Council and executive vice-president and secretary-general of the Hong Kong Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference Youth Association.