香港大學學生會就全國人民代表大會常務委員會修改香港特別行政區選舉制度之聲明

【香港大學學生會就全國人民代表大會常務委員會修改香港特別行政區選舉制度之聲明　︳Statement from the Hong Kong University Students’ Union on the overhaul of the electoral system in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress 】

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葉芷琳

    我港築城百年，今竟落作妾媵：全國人民代表大會常務委員會（下稱「人大常委」）於三月三十日通過修改《基本法》附件一及附件二，繞過原先的政改「五部曲」，大幅修改特首選舉委員會之組成方式，刪去屬民意代表的區議會之席位；中共同樣對立法會選舉作出結構性顛覆，除了重設佔四十席的「選舉委員會」議席外，更把地區直選議席削至二十席。除此以外，中共於立法會選舉及特首選舉新增「資格審查委員會」，擁有對候選人資格的「生殺大權」，其決定更不設上訴機制，亦不可被司法覆核。香港大學學生會（下稱「本會」）對人大常委親自終結香港選舉制度表示強烈憤慨。

    九七前後，港人為前途問題人心惶惶。中共政權為粉飾太平，誇下海口，許諾港人在一國兩制之下可享真正自治，決不插手我城內部事務。港人一廂情願，以為和極權協商談判，即可換來民主自由。然而，當立法會僅有一半民意議席，特首選舉由北京屬意之特權階級產生，下一代港人從此生於畸型的代議政制中。豈料五十年尚未過半，當初承諾言猶在耳，中共政權竟於基本法之上僭建起所謂全面管治權，將一切爭取普選訴求打成國家安全危機，公然違反中英聯合聲明，以及基本法對港人乃至國際社會的承諾。中共既以一紙普選的空頭支票搪塞港人，仍視民意為洪水猛獸，可見政權決不容許經由民意產生的代表對其管治有絲毫威脅。時至今日，黨錮日亟，公直既亡，忠信蓋失。在滿目瘡痍的選舉制度下，提名、投票和參與選舉等的行為，除了為政權背書以外，已無任何實際意義。今日反口覆舌，中共作為掘墓人也僅是為兩制蓋棺。香港議政空間，亦與中共治下的市、縣無異。

    風雨飄搖之際，我等無須憂古思情，亦無暇躑躅沉吟。民間自應高築牆，破除恐懼，莊敬自強，在社區深耕細作，克勤小物，維繫眾人。公民社會作為公民自願結合、多元自主的社會網絡，擺脫政府及市場之掣肘，強調個人權利與義務，防止公權力過度擴張。中共牢牢掌控政制之後，角力之場定必轉向公民社會，將其吸納入極權體制，使其爪牙深入人民私生活。故此，本會呼籲港人守望相助，積極參與社區事務，守護本土文化，保存有生力量，直到我城重光之時。

香港大學學生會

二零二一年四月七日

A century and counting into its foundation, our city has been reduced to a vassal of the communist regime. The Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (hereinafter “NPCSC”) has endorsed the proposal to amend Annex I and II of the Basic Law on March 3, bypassing the original “Five-step Process” to the electoral reform. The formation of the electoral committee is radically manipulated, with all democratically elected district council seats erased. The Legislative Council election is also toppled structurally, with the geographical constituency reduced to 20 seats, and the establishment of election committee seats, now set to take up 40 seats. A new vetting committee is also established, holding ultimate power towards candidacy in Legislative Council and Chief Executive elections. There is no appeal system for such a mechanism, nor can the decision be legally challenged through judicial review. The Hong Kong University Students’ Union (hereinafter “the Union”) expresses strong indignation at the decision for the NPCSC to brutally bludgeon the electoral system in Hong Kong.

Two score years ago, when our city panicked for its future, the communist regime fabricated a falsehood of true autonomy under the "One-Country, Two-Systems" model, in a pledge of non-intervention in the city's internal affairs. Hongkongers, under false hopes that negotiating with a tyrant will bring fruits of democracy and freedom, acquiesce. With only half of the Legislative Council directly elected from the people, and the Chief Executive selected by elites favoured by Beijing, a new generation of Hongkongers has to live under a democracy defective and deformed. However, with the 50-year promise yet to pass, the Central Authorities convolutes a travesty of "Overall Jurisdiction" and force it onto the Basic Law, while calls for universal suffrage are calumniated into plots against national security, in a blatant violation of the Sino-British Joint Declaration, a vow not only to Hongkongers, but also to the international community. Even when the Chinese government gave Hongkongers a bad cheque of universal suffrage, this regime still deems the public monstrous, which only restates the fact that it would not let any democratically-elected representatives shake its governance. As till now, with justice ever more diminished and freedom ever more threatened, voting, nominating, or other acts of participation in such a devastating electoral system has no use but to legitimize an odious apparatus. What happened in Beijing today is merely the last straw that broke the camel's back. Rooms for public discussion are closed, no different from any other cities or counties under communist rule.

Swaying in raging storms, we Hongkongers shall not frown upon the past, nor fright or fear, but to unite and brave the menace before us. By forging together a civil society, we actively form a network of great diversity and dimension, distinct from the grip of government or the temptations of state-run business. To the over-expanding public authority, we shall emphasize our civil rights and duty; To the totalitarian panjandrums which usurp our civil society and private lives, we shall have no truce or parlay. Therefore the Union calls upon all Hongkongers to strengthen our mutual assistance, actively engage in community affairs, and defend our local culture. Together, we shall preserve our animating force, until the city is liberated in its dawn.

The Hong Kong University Students’ Union

7 April 2021