The 23 – year old prominent pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong was barred from entering the election set for November 24. This is due to the violation of the electoral laws that talks against the promotion of Hong Kong’s self-determination. Although according to Wong this decision is politically driven because of the high profile he has internationally.
The protests that whirled up against the anti-extradition bill passed, has affected the economy, showing less signs of getting better.
Option of referendum
Among the 1100 other candidates Wong is the only one to be barred from entering in the elections. The decision of whether Wong wants to hand over sovereignty over to the People’s Republic of china or have referendum and independence for Hong Kong is questionable, according to Wong’s district returning officer, Laura Aron. Wong on the other hand supports the notion of having a non-binding referendum for the people of Hong Kong but not independence, according to his Facebook post on Saturday.
Relevance of Taiwan’s model
Taiwan’s ruling party urged a ‘real universal suffrage” for Hong Kong as it regretted disqualifying Wong form the elections. The president of Taiwan being the supporter of democracy in Hong Kong has strengthened her stance for elections, with this notion. China has offered to rule Taiwan with the same “one country, two systems” as Hong Kong, with certain freedoms being allowed.
The apparently increased interference of Beijing in Hong Kong has led to angry protestors who end up in an order less confrontation with the police. China blames the United States and Britain for the turmoil.
Fragile Economy
The Hong Kong leader Carrie lam has said that the present economic situation in the island nation is very grim, due to the prolonged unrest. As a result the GDP of the country will mostly not achieve the revised growth of 0 – 1%. . Mainland china however is optimistic of reviving the growth once the protests die down.
Source: Google
