AP News, October 12th, 2007
Hong Kong's leader said Friday that too much democracy could lead to another Cultural Revolution, when gangs of youths were given free rein to persecute suspected government opponents in mainland China.
Donald Tsang's comments quickly drew criticism from pro-democracy lawmakers who questioned his willingness to fight for democracy in Hong Kong. Days earlier, Tsang delivered an annual policy address that was criticized for lacking a timetable for establishing full democracy in the former British territory.
Tsang said Hong Kong must promote democratic development without compromising social stability and government efficiency.
"If you go to the extreme ... you have the Cultural Revolution," Tsang said on government-run RTHK radio. "For instance in China when people take everything into their hands, then you cannot govern the place."
The Cultural Revolution was implemented by China's communist founder Mao Zedong in 1966. It was an ultra-radical political upheaval over a 10-year period in which millions of people suspected of opposing the communist government were persecuted.
Pro-democracy lawmaker Ronny Tong said he was shocked by Tsang's comments.
"If he has this kind of mind-set on democratic development, I don't believe he will fight for democracy on behalf of Hong Kong people," the Civic Party legislator said. "I think he needs to immediately clarify what he thinks of democratic development."
Democratic Party leader Albert Ho also criticized Tsang for lacking an understanding of history and democratic concepts.
"The aim of democratic development is to avoid anything like Cultural Revolution," Ho said.
Tsang's office later tried to tone down his remarks.
"What the chief executive means is that we must have a democratic system that best suits the situation in Hong Kong, a system that will further improve the quality of government," said a spokeswoman for the chief executive's office on condition of anonymity citing internal policy.
Hong Kong, which returned to Chinese rule in 1997, is governed under a "one country, two systems" formula designed to give Hong Kong people a wide degree of autonomy.
Tsang was picked by an 800-member committee loyal to China. Only half of Hong Kong's 60 legislators were elected, with the rest picked by special interest groups.
The territory has seen a number of large protests in recent years demanding the right to elect its leader and entire legislature. But Beijing has ruled out implementing those reforms before 2008.
Hong Kong's government is summarizing public views received from a three-month consultation period on political reform and will issue a report to Beijing.
