Injunction reasonable

The High Court granted on Monday night a plea by Hong Kong International Terminals for a temporary injunction regarding a strike by port workers over pay disputes. The container port at Kwai Chung is one of Hong Kong's economic lifelines and its daily operations have been seriously hampered by the labor action with negative impact on Hong Kong's economy and international reputation. The court injunction not only reinforces the rule of law but also protects the overall interests of society. All parties concerned should abide by the court order and help maintain normal operations of the container port.

The original intent of the port workers' labor action is in seeking pay raises, but the strike has been turned into a political act by a number of radical political groups that not only jeopardizes Hong Kong's tradition of resolving labor disputes through mutually accommodating negotiations, but also threatens Hong Kong's economy and rule of law. A court injunction is therefore definitely necessary. The latest dock strike led to the blockade of terminal accesses and Kwai Chung Interchange, increasing safety risks while hampering container terminal operations. The container port is a lifeline for Hong Kong's trade and transport activities and all parties concerned are obligated to maintain its normal operation.

The strike was initiated by a radical group called Left-Wing 21 and later saw Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions' General Secretary Lee Cheuk-yan, Scholarism (a radical student group) and some other familiar faces in political street acts, including lawmaker Leung Kwok-hung, show up to advocate more radical ways to make the workers' demand heard and answered. It is safe to say the labor action has been made a political stunt by radical groups from the start and veered further away from its original intention as it escalated into a show of radicalism with occasional scuffles instead of peaceful negotiation. Politicization of labor actions does not help efforts to resolve disputes through negotiation but can hurt Hong Kong's economy and shake the rule of law. The court injunction is absolutely reasonable and necessary to prevent the labor movement from becoming more inflammatory and being used by radical groups to hijack Hong Kong's overall interest and weaken its economy.

This is an excerpted translation of a Wen Wei Po editorial published on April 2.

Ho Chi-man

'Occupy' unconstitutional

Tai Yiu-ting, a law scholar at the University of Hong Kong, and some of his fellow opposition members published what they call the "Occupy Central Action Manifesto" with three core beliefs: first, Hong Kong's election system must meet the requirement for popular and fair election by the international community, including the right of any citizen to an equal number of votes and worth of votes, and to participate in elections free of unreasonable restrictions; second, determining the specific format of Hong Kong's election system through a democratic process that includes the elements to be discussed and authorized by popular consensus; third, the civil disobedience movement aimed at implementing universal suffrage in Hong Kong, though unlawful, must remain non-violent throughout the process. However, all these beliefs are meant to confuse and mislead the public.

The constitutional basis of realizing universal suffrage is the Basic Law and relevant decisions of the National People's Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC). And there is no universal standard for universal suffrage in terms of a specific format or method. The central government has made its bottom line very clear on this issue, which is that those who oppose the central government must not be elected as the Chief Executive (CE) of the Hong Kong SAR. The opposition has labeled a CE election "screened" by a nomination committee according to the patriotic principle as fake universal suffrage. It is in fact an excuse for the opposition to put unpatriotic and even decidedly anti-central-authorities candidates in the race for the CE's office. That not only runs against the constitutional arrangement for Hong Kong but also challenges the central authorities' bottom line. How can it be "real universal suffrage"?

As a matter of fact, the opposition is not in a position to determine whether Hong Kong's election system is democratic or not. In political science the definition of universal suffrage focuses primarily on whether voter qualification is determined by the value of the taxes one pays and one's gender, with no logical connection to the method of returning the organ of state power or specific stipulation on how elections should be conducted.

The author is a current affairs commentator. This is an excerpted translation of his commentary published in Hong Kong Commercial Daily on April 2.

(HK Edition 04/03/2013 page9)