Lucky

Lucky

When I was little, I used to dream about being the Governor of Hong Kong. I still remember the composition I wrote in my primary school, in which I conveyed my vision and even outlined the policies I planned to carry out once I became the leader of the government. After a few years, I realized that it was almost impossible for me to be the Governor of Hong Kong, because the position was in fact appointed by the British government. This was a piece of disheartening news. I tried to console myself by saying that at least I had aimed at entering politics. In my mind, politicians are not only smart, but also selfless and I sincerely appreciated their contribution to the society. In Hong Kong, however, it was unusual, if not odd, for a young boy to want to be a politician. You might accuse me of over-generalizing, but this was what I thought at that time.

A few years later, as my general knowledge of the world outside my classroom gradually developed, a gleam of light was shed on my dream again. I realized that Hong Kong people would eventually have the chance to choose their own governor some years after the handover of Hong Kong back to Mainland China in 1997. The idea of Hong Kong being returned to China was frightening to many Hong Kong people in the early 80s, but the handover turned out to be a joyful and memorable moment for most of the citizens. Today, Hong Kong is no longer a colony of Britain and Chinese are holding most of the top positions in the government. More significantly, the Governor, now renamed as the Chief Executive, is also Chinese. In other words, I still have my chance.

I am convinced that not only I, but the Hong Kong community in general welcomes this political change, which brings more power to the hands of Hong Kong citizens. Possessing more political rights seems to be a foreign concept to us, but it definitely sounds like something positive. People used to wonder why Hong Kong people were so indifferent to politics. I think I know the answer now. It is indeed very straightforward. Hong Kong people were essentially unable to make an impact on the government, as we were under the rule of foreigners. We tend to stand aloof from politics, since we have grown up in a world where the notion of self-governing is unfortunately absent. Nobody gave a damn about politics back then, but will the general public now become active in the political process? It takes time to prove, but I am rather optimistic about it because I have seen a parallel situation in Taiwan.

Because I would eventually attempt to run for office, I visited Taiwan with some of my schoolmates when the Taiwanese were holding their democratic presidential election this year. If you know some Chinese history, you would have loved to go with me, you would have also wanted to witness this presidential election in which, for the first time in the 5000 years of Chinese civilization, the ruling party would actually have the chance to be ousted. (Both Mainland China (People's Republic of China) and Taiwan (Republic of China) claim that they are the legitimate Chinese governments.)

I arrived in Taipei one month before the election day. The first thing I saw after stepping out of the airport was a big picture of one of the candidates. Not surprisingly, the second thing that came into my sight was a picture of another candidate. There were a total of five competing candidates and three of them had been dominating the polls. A parade of flags was hung on the street and there were numerous banners of all sorts of sizes displayed on the walls of buildings. Thanks to the political parties, much color and substance were added to the city and I was constantly reminded of the election while I was touring. My favorite souvenir from the trip was a little cute model of one of the candidates, who happened to be the one finally elected.

On my way to a hotel, I was astonished that a taxi driver was able to tell me everything about the candidates, from their policies to their personalities. After I turned on the television in my room, I understood why the taxi driver was so knowledgeable. Two-thirds of the channels were occupied by election-related programs. No matter what time I switched on the TV, I would see a heated debate about the presidential election. Sometimes, there would be interviews of the candidates. Sometimes, the reporters would be questioning the representatives of different parties. Sometimes, I would see fierce debates between groups of analysts and professionals on current affairs. Sometimes, I would see some actors acting as candidates making fun of each other. However, what I would not find was a time when I was not hearing issues pertaining to the election. Even when I was watching cartoons at night, propaganda was shown every fifteen minutes. This phenomenon was absolutely novel to me.

At first, I thought that the Taiwanese were manic. Why were they so enthusiastic about the election? As I chatted with people in restaurants or public transports, the reason was gradually unveiled. A lot of factors contributed to stirring up the enthusiasm, such as the military threat and political pressure imposed by mainland China and the closeness of the popularity of the three main candidates, which was continuously revealed by surveys. The most crucial factor was the fact that the Taiwanese were so proud of their election, as it was the best manifestation of the successful implementation of democracy in Taiwan. They possessed not only the inviolable right to vote, but also the attitude of treasuring it. Democracy might not be the best political system, but it is undoubtedly something much better than Taiwan's original single-party politics. After all, only a democratic election can possibly kick out the current party, which has held power since the establishment of Taiwan sovereignty, and bring the opposition party to the government office. Will democracy flourish in Hong Kong? It is hard to predict, but Taiwan has certainly been a successful precursor of establishing a non-authoritarian political system on Chinese soil.

This same year, there will also be a presidential election held in the United States, a country admired as a buttress of democracy.