Government officials in Beijing will send most of Chinafs gold medalists to Hong Kong next week, ahead of legislative elections here on Sept. 7C moving swiftly to capitalize on the success of Chinese athletes at the Olympics,
The athletesf visit, announced Wednesday by the Hong Kong government, comes as democracy advocates here are struggling to hold on to their 26 seats in the 60-member Legislature.
A resurgent Chinese national pride has helped pro-Beijing candidates this summer. If pro-democracy politicians fall below 21 seats, then the Chinese governmentfs allies will be in position to reshape election laws and other legislation in ways that would further cement Beijingfs control. Hong Kongfs mini-constitution, the Basic Law, specifies that any amendments must obtain the support of two-thirds of the legislaturefs members, or 40 of the 60 members now. By obtaining 21 of 60 seats, the Democrats provide any changes to the Basic Law.
gWhether they come or not, the whole Olympics has raised Hong Kong peoplefs sense of being part of China and their sense of pride in being Chinese,h said Choy So-yuk, a leader and candidate of the pro-Beijing Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong.
After 156 years as a British colony, Hong Kong became a semi-autonomous Chinese territory in 1997.
Advocates of democracy consistently win a majority of votes cast by the general public in legislative elections. But a byzantine electoral system, introduced by the British to limit pressures for local rule and preserved since 1997 by China, has ensured that a legislative majority remains in the hands of a coalition of the pro-Beijing commercial elite and pro-Beijing labor and community activists.
Yeung Sum, a former chairman of the Democratic Party and longtime critic of Beijing who is seeking re-election, said that he worried that gold medalists might campaign with pro-Beijing candidates.
Thomas Chow, the director of the Hong Kong Leisure and Cultural Services Department, said the cityfs decision to invite the Chinese athletes had nothing to do with the elections. gEven if there were no election this year, we would still invite the gold medalists,h he said.
The athletes will arrive on Aug. 29, five days after the closing ceremony in Beijing, and stay for three days. They are to attend a welcome ceremony at Hong Kong Stadium and demonstrate their sports in several areas that are likely to be political battlegrounds.
Democracy activists did well in the 2004 elections, which were held just one year after hundreds of thousands of residents had protested the planned introduction of stringent internal security legislation favored by Beijing. The legislation was withdrawn, but many politicians expect a new version to be introduced in coming years to replace colonial laws still on the books.
Predicting next monthfs elections is extremely difficult, said Michael DeGolyer, the director of the Hong Kong Transition Project, a coalition of academics studying changes under Chinese rule.
The pro-democracy camp has fragmented into a series of rival parties all battling for the same voters, including seven pro-democracy tickets on Hong Kong Island alone. But the pro-Beijing camp has also divided, with the Federation of Trade Unions distancing itself from the Democratic Alliance and fielding rival candidates.
Poverty and income inequality have unexpectedly emerged as the top issues in campaign forums. High food and energy prices have pushed up inflation to 6.1 percent in the 12 months through June, hurting the poor in particular.
Cyd Ho, a pro-democracy candidate, said the Olympic athletesf visit would probably hearten voters already inclined to support pro-Beijing parties. But she questioned whether voters worried about economic issues would take note.
gThe middle-of-the-road swing voters,h she said, gwill not be swayed by gold medals.h
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