Colonial Hong Kong in the Eyes of Elsie Tu

16. Step-by-Step Democracy

16 Step-by-Step Democracy It is debatable whether democracy should be achieved by evolution or by revolution. I believe the answer depends upon the circumstances and that the same system does not suit every country or community. When th e lot of the people of any country i s so dismal that the y ca n see n o hop e fo r thei r governmen t eve r takin g step s t o cur b injustic e o r change repressive laws, the danger of revolution exists and indeed may be the people' s onl y hope . Bu t histor y ha s show n tha t revolutio n doe s no t necessarily bring about improvement. More often than not, more sufferin g is inflicted an d a new kind o f dictatorship may arise. However, when th e people can see that their government is taking steps to relieve their sufferin g and improv e thei r livelihood , th e step-by-ste p wa y to democracy i s more likely t o brin g abou t a stabl e governmen t an d a contente d community . Modern international communications should teach every government the lesson that a contented community is essential to its continued existence . In Britain, phased democracy towards socialism was known as Fabianism, named after a Roman general called Fabian who, in his wars with Hannibal, believed that victory over an enemy was won by a gradual weakening of the enemy troops. On the political scene, among the enemies we have to fight are poverty, government inefficiency, inequality , injustice, malpractices and corruption. In Hong Kong, the Britis h colonial government was quite clever. By raising an elitist group of local people and providing them with good working conditions, they were able to produce a loyal senior civil service similar to 134 Colonial Hong Kong in the Eyes of Ebie Tu that i n Britain. On the surface it was an efficient syste m based on the rule of law but, wit h n o representativ e voic e o f the peopl e i n th e legislature , there arose many opportunities for corruption and malpractice in the civil service. In the end i t was because of corruption and malpractices after th e Second Worl d Wa r tha t unres t becam e greater , an d b y th e 1960 s a groundswell of discontent began to manifest itsel f in riots and disturbances at the least provocation. As mentioned i n a previous chapter, Governor MacLehose took steps in the 1970s to deal with the social issues and to control corruption, resulting in a diminution i n riots and unrest. After mor e than 14 0 years of colonial rule, there had been no steps towards democracy, and th e people had no t one single elected member on the Legislative Council to speak up for them. One o f th e reason s fo r unrest , MacLehos e discovered , wa s th e lac k o f communication between the government and the people at the grassroots level. In an effort t o establish effective communication , MacLehose set up District Board s in every district with some elected member s to advise th e government on the needs of their district and report complaints. The District Boards wer e partiall y appointe d an d partiall y electe d an d althoug h the y had n o powe r t o pas s legislatio n o r mak e policies , ther e wer e occasion s when th e government accepte d thei r advice. This was a step i n the righ t direction, bu t i t was inevitable tha t eventuall y th e member s would wan t power to do something rather than be merely advisers with no guarantee of their advice being put into practice. A mor e significan t ste p wa s taken i n 1985 , after a smal l numbe r o f anti-China element s appeared on the scene following th e announcemen t that Hon g Kong would be reunited with China i n 1997 . These new face s on th e political scene had neve r called for democracy under th e colonia l system, nor had they ever opposed corruption and its consequent injustices . At first they had expressed the hope of Hong Kong becoming independen t of China , a...