'Occupy' tail is wagging the dog

The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress has declared that the chief executive must be a person "who loves the country and loves Hong Kong". There have been some raised eyebrows at that. But it's a basic requirement for government officials in any country. Certainly when Hong Kong was a British colony, if the governor expressed any sentiments that might be deemed inappropriate they would soon have found themselves yanked back to good old Blighty.

The majority of those who are expressing their dissatisfaction with the existing state of affairs are not agitating for a divorce with the mainland. They just want a separation between the Hong Kong government and the handful of super rich that have been able to sway decision-making in their favor, to the detriment of ordinary people. Residents in Hong Kong are not all "Occupy Central" rabble-rousers, but many of them are looking for a way to express their concerns and participate in the decision-making process so that they have houses and jobs, quality healthcare and decent education for their children.

Corruption was rife in Hong Kong under British colonial rule, as a glance through the newspaper headlines during those years will show. In the run-up to the handover, the colony cleaned up its act, but even so ordinary residents have only been able to gaze in envy at the other side of an ever-widening wealth gap.

Not surprisingly, Hong Kong's tycoons are worried that if the seats in the legislature held by business groups are replaced with directly elected ones, they will have to give their workers some benefits. But there is no reason why they should not give the workers their due.

Without the democracy Hong Kong enjoys at present, "Occupy Central" supporters would not have been able to organize any rallies and protest marches. And those in Hong Kong who love democracy should not let the media-amplified meta-democratic demand for an open-ended election drown out their realistic demands.

The author is a writer with China Daily. hannayrichards@chinadaily.com.cn.