The Overseas Hong Kong Council, planned and formed by Hong Kongers in Taiwan, is expected to begin voting for representatives in March, project organizers Elmer Yuen (袁弓夷) and Alan Keung (姜嘉偉) said yesterday.
The organizers told a news conference at National Taiwan University Alumni Hall that all Hong Kongers, both in Hong Kong and abroad, can vote electronically as long as they meet the voting criteria.
Yuen said the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is ultimately to blame for oppressing freedom in Hong Kong and that the council — which would be empowered to enact legislation — is founded to restore freedom and sovereignty to the people of Hong Kong.
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
If Hong Kong is to stand again, it must rely on itself, Yuen said.
Keung said that Hong Kongers could not win under the electoral rules imposed by the CCP, and the council offers a chance to remove Hong Kong from the Chinese framework, a move that is Hong Kongers’ only way out.
He said that continued interactions with the international community after their council’s founding would increase its chances of being recognized, thereby highlighting the illegality of the Hong Kong Legislative Council.
Yuen said it is understandable that there are security concerns regarding the council’s intent to uphold the general election system via electronic voting.
He added that the preparatory committee spent two years creating an information security system that would generate a specific password for an eligible individual, determined by scanning the chip in the person’s passport.
Ballot counters would not be able to tell who voted, he said, adding that the committee has done everything possible to assuage voters’ concerns regarding information security risks.
Yuen said he understood that, despite such measures, some might still abstain from voting out of fear of the CCP.
The sentencing of 45 democracy advocates in the territory by the Hong Kong High Court last month would inevitably affect people’s support for and the legitimacy of the Legislative Council, Yuen said, adding that he was familiar with the CCP’s tactics and would try his best to promote the council over the next three months.
Forty-seven people were charged with conspiracy to commit subversion after holding unofficial primaries in July 2020 in a bid to make a shortlist aimed at gaining a pro-democracy majority in the legislature.
Keung said that voting is the most basic and civilized option of government and is the seed of Hong Kongers’ revolution.
Who is ultimately elected does not matter; what matters is that the framework of one person, one vote is established, he said.
United Microelectronics Corp (聯電) founder Robert Tsao (曹興誠) yesterday stated his support for Yuen, Hong Kongers and any others who hope to give power to the public.
The new council would propose candidates starting next month, with debates held in February and voting to commence in March, the council said.
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