Big money, year-round campaigning taint Hong Kong legislative politics

It is easy to bemoan the state of American politics when the candidates' artificially constructed images seem to determine so much. It doesn't matter that the public agrees with Al Gore on more of the election issues; it wasn't until Al's big smacker in Los Angeles that we really started listening to that alpha-male's message.

George W. Bush is no dummy when it comes to creating the right image, either. In a Sept. 8 New York Times article, Bush explained his increased visits to coffee shops by saying, "Well, it's a better picture."

The growing importance of a candidate's created image, and not just his or her party platform, is also a problem outside the United States. Hong Kong held its Legislative Council elections Sept. 10. Courtesy of my Wilson School task force, I was able to attend a pre-election press conference, visit polling stations on election day and listen in on a roundtable discussion of the results by various academic experts. The most meaningful lesson I took away from that day was the striking similarity between Hong Kong and American politics — but in all its worst aspects.

The Legislative Council, Legco, is the rough equivalent of our Congress. Unlike the United States, there are a number of different parties that keep their place on the council, thanks to the proportional list system — you vote for the party, not the individual.

Yet Hong Kong politics is still dominated by the nation's two largest parties, the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong (DAB) and the Democratic party.

The story of this year's election was the triumph of the DAB, which has a reputation for being the pro-China party. The Democratic party, known for its advocacy of freedom of the press and other democratic rights, received just 34.7 percent of the vote, down from 42.6 percent in 1998.

Sonny Lo, a University of Hong Kong professor, cited the DAB's increasing use of "snake soup tours" as a large factor in its success. (Snake soup is a Chinese delicacy.) The U.S. equivalent of the "snake soup tour" is the White House coffee date, a fundraiser frequently employed by both our major parties.

Taking yet another cue from the United States, campaigning has become a year-round activity in Hong Kong, especially for the DAB. The consensus at the roundtable discussion was that the Democratic party's relatively low profile during non-election season was a major factor in its downfall. A do-nothing government is never a good thing, but neither is one that is too busy working to constantly toot its own horn.

When reelection becomes the number one priority — as it has in the United States and soon will in Hong Kong — candidates concentrate less attention on crafting good legislation and spend more time blaming the opposition for everything bad. For example, during the 1992 election, it was preposterous to blame then-President George Bush for the bad economy when the mechanisms for the recession and the soaring deficits were set in place by his predecessor Reagan.

Another disturbing aspect of Hong Kong politics is the influence of big money. Largely bankrolled by wealthy Chinese executives and pro-China businesses, the DAB is the wealthiest of the parties. According to Lo, the DAB manages to report a deceptively low campaign-expense total by having many of its party materials produced cheaply in mainland China — an advantage other parties do not have. Like the soft money flooding our political system, it's a legal loophole with dubious benefits.

The United States' governmental setup is sometimes criticized for not adequately representing the will of the people. The electoral college makes it possible for a candidate to lose the popular vote but still win the presidency. Thus, voting Republican in a Republican stronghold counts less than doing so in a key battleground state.

In Hong Kong, 24 of Legco's 60 seats are reserved for Functional Constituencies, which represent different economic and professional sectors (such as transportation and education). Citizens are not allowed to vote in more than one constituency and they must qualify for it. (For instance, one must be a part of the medical profession to vote in the Medical Constituency.) Thus, individuals in constituencies with fewer members have a disproportionate amount of power.

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However, all is not wrong with the DAB and its recent victory. Hong Kong voters are worried about their economic livelihood, and they think the DAB better understands that anxiety. Perhaps my defense of democratic ideals and my dismay at the Democratic party's downward slide in Hong Kong is comparable to the pain of U.S. Republicans in 1996 who tried to beat Clinton by making morality a major issue. Maybe it is just the economy, stupid. Liriel Higa is a Wilson School major from Los Angeles, Calif. She is currently studying abroad in Hong Kong. She can be reached at lshiga@princeton.edu.