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China sends Olympic champions to HK before polls
2004-09-06
Chinese diver and double gold medalist Jingjing Guo waves to the crowd during a welcoming ceremony for the 32 Chinese Olympic gold medalists at Hong Kong's Government House, Monday, Sept. 6, 2004. Fresh from their 2004 Athens Summer Olympics triumph, China's 32 gold medalists arrived in the territory for a three-day visit, apparently aimed at giving a boost to pro-Beijing candidates ahead of next week's key legislative election. |
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HONG KONG - China sent 50 Olympic gold medallists to Hong Kong on Monday for a celebratory tour, playing the patriotism card to boost the chances of pro-Beijing candidates before weekend legislative elections, analysts said.The polls are expected to be the most competitive ever in Hong Kong, pitting pro-democracy forces against Beijing loyalists who have controlled the 60-seat legislature since the former British colony returned to Chinese rule in 1997. Although pro-democracy candidates are unlikely to secure a majority in the chamber because of an electoral system that favours pro-China forces, they may still make large gains that are bound to rattle communist leaders in Beijing, analysts say. Top Hong Kong officials and cheering schoolchildren gave a hero's welcome to the Olympic champions when they arrived from Beijing. Excited youngsters presented garlands to the champions and shouted the names of their favourites as the athletes, dressed in white and red, waved and walked passed. "Tian Liang! Jing Jing!" they shouted to the men's 10-metre platform synchronised dive champion, and women's 3-metre springboard synchronised dive gold medallist Guo Jingjing. The 50 athletes will tour the city and woo the public with performances of a few selected sports on Wednesday. Thousands of tickets to badminton, table tennis and volleyball friendlies, as well as a diving performance were snapped up last week. With six days to go before the polls, democracy candidates hit by scandal reports saw further falls in popularity. Incumbent legislator Fred Li of the Democratic Party saw support drop to nine percent in Kowloon East district by Monday, down from 15 percent in mid-August before Chinese authorities arrested his running mate for six months in southern China to undergo re-education for hiring a prostitute. WINNING VOTERS The visit by the Olympians is yet another move by Beijing to nurture Chinese nationalist sentiment and convince voters to back pro-Beijing candidates in the Sept. 12 elections, analysts said. China has invited Hong Kong businesses to invest in projects linked to the 2008 Beijing Olympics, extended incentives under a free trade pact and allowed more goods to enter the mainland tariff-free. To boost the chances of pro-China candidates, Beijing has stepped up a feel-good campaign, offering a host of economic favours to Hong Kong and sending its Olympic champions to remind Hong Kong's 7 million people of the advantages to be gained by being on the right side of the world's seventh-largest economy. "Definitely China has been playing the patriotism card to increase people's recognition of its philosophies, such as the need for stability and prosperity, and its stance on democracy," said political analyst Timothy Wong. Popular sentiment turned against Beijing after China's communist leaders in April ruled out full, direct elections in Hong Kong in the near future, prompting half a million people to march on July 1 to demand more democracy. However, the pro-democracy camp, which has 22 seats in the legislature, has been rocked by sex and money scandals in the past month that could erode its chances of winning a majority. In a show of solidarity, pro-democracy candidates held a rally on Sunday to urge people to vote after surveys showed an increase in the number of those undecided, a consequence of growing voter disillusion with all parties, analysts said. It is not only pro-democracy candidates whose reputations have been hit by reports of scandal. Last week, Chan Yuen-han, one of Hong Kong's most popular lawmakers, a grassroots leader and pro-Beijing politician, fought accusations she had used public funds for union activities. Her supporters organised a rally on Monday night to drum up backing. Reuters
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