We will not let you have democracy if you keep voting the candidates you like, who are candidates we dislike. But if you know what is good for you, you will vote the candidates we "recommend".
At least in Singapore, when you vote the candidate that the Government does not like, the electoral boundaries just get redrawn the next time, or some legal thing will happen and the candidate will either end up sued till he is a bankrupt/exiled/fugitive.
But what do I know? I have not had a chance to vote since I was legally allowed to, because of the frequent walkovers.
Originally read at the Crooked Timber
So, Beijing won’t let you vote, because they know you won’t vote the way they want. But, if you vote the way they want, maybe they’ll let you vote again later, and for more things, at which point you can…um…vote the way they want again, or risk the dreaded “instability”. If this is an advertisement for “one country, two systems”, then don’t expect to see Taiwan rushing to sign up.
Also eloquently put by beggingtodiffer
Imagine if American Idol decided not to let viewers vote anymore because the judges didn't like the results. Now imagine a country where the central government wouldn't let the locals vote because they don't want to vote for the government's candidates.
The Original ST article:
"Beijing plays on HK's fears of chaos":
Beijing plays on HK's fears of chaos
By discrediting the liberals, it hopes to make Hong Kong accept its ruling against direct elections
By Mary Kwang
CONSTRUCTION tycoon Vincent Lo tells Hong Kong people to emigrate if they are unhappy about the slow pace of democratisation in the territory.
Another tycoon, Mr Henry Cheng, paints members of the pro-democracy camp as welfare campaigners and suggests that they relocate to Vietnam or North Korea.
Yet Beijing allowed one of its most vocal critics in Hong Kong, Catholic Bishop Joseph Zen, to visit Shanghai last week after banning him from the mainland since 1998.
And Chief Executive Tung Chee Hwa, who had flatly refused to appear before a Legislative Council (Legco) inquiry into last year's Sars crisis, is now considering meeting panel members outside the law-making chamber.
Mainland and Hong Kong officials, as well as their supporters, are adopting a stick-and-carrot approach to get Hong Kong people to accept the central government's April 26 ruling against direct elections in 2007 and 2008.
The strategy focuses on discrediting the pro-democracy camp, including a group of prominent barristers who are fighting for universal suffrage.
The manipulations also play on public fears that widespread anti-government protests would result in political chaos. In this, Hong Kong tycoons have been among the most vocal champions of Beijing.
Hang Lung Group chairman Ronnie Chan said: 'The pace of democracy in Hong Kong would have been faster without the pro-democracy camp.'
He said that freedom in Hong Kong would be impaired if pro-democracy activists continued to provoke Beijing.
Casino king Stanley Ho warned: 'Staging street protests is like playing with fire. People could burn cars. There could be robberies. There would be trouble.'
He was referring to the mass rally that pro-democracy politicians and activists plan to stage on July 1 to protest against the April 26 decision. Mr Ho's remarks are seen as an effort to nip public sentiment in the bud.
The pro-democracy camp hopes the sentiment whipped up at the rally will translate into votes for its candidates in the Legco elections in September.
On their part, pro-Beijing electoral hopefuls are trying to turn the central government's hardline stance to their advantage.
Among them, Mr James Tien, chairman of the pro-government Liberal Party, urges voters to elect his party's candidates who will be taking the unusual step of running in geographical constituencies. At present, all eight Liberal Party lawmakers represent functional constituencies.
Mr Tien said: 'If the central government sees a willingness among Hong Kong people to vote too for conservative businessmen, it will then have more confidence in the territory and might allow Hong Kong people universal suffrage earlier than is otherwise the case.'
Pro-democracy candidates tend to sweep directly elected Legco seats because they enjoy support from the population.
Mr Ma Lik, chairman of the pro-Beijing Democratic Alliance for Betterment of Hong Kong (DAB), has also warned against handing huge electoral gains to the pro-democracy camp.
'The central government would become more apprehensive about speeding up democratic development in Hong Kong if the democrats won a landslide victory.'
The DAB, because of its pro-Beijing position, is expected to be trounced in September when Legco's 30 geographically elected seats and 30 functional constituencies are up for grabs.
Political commentator Raymond Yin says the remarks, in particular by the tycoons, would rile Hong Kong people even more.
'The people's feelings are all bottled up. They will vent their dissatisfaction in the September polls,' he said.
