Far more vocal was a parade of the city’s normally media-shy tycoons, who exhorted the public to accept the mainland’s decision. Several warned that Beijing had grown tired of Hong Kongers’ political demands–and advised against “rocking the boat.” Macau casino mogul Stanley Ho went further, issuing a statement saying, “Introducing universal suffrage might not necessarily succeed and this has been proven in Taiwan.” Says Ma Ngok, a professor at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology: “The business sector now appears even more conservative than the conservative political party in Hong Kong.”
With elections for the legislature in September, the DAB has its hands tied. The party suffered heavy losses in last fall’s District Council elections, following major protests in July over a Beijing-backed national-security law. The mainland’s strong-arm tactics aren’t helping its electoral chances. In fact, in an attempt to win over middle-of-the-road voters, the DAB rewrote its platform to include its own pledge to support direct elections in 2007. The position is sure to be revised again–as quietly as possible. “The DAB knows voters will take it out on them again this September,” says Ma. “But tycoons don’t have to run in elections and face voters. They only get contracts in the end.”
Mainland officials, faced with an increasingly restive populace in Hong Kong, are hoping to tap a deep well of respect for the territory’s richest citizens. “Beijing has pushed these businessmen to come out to counter the democratic forces,” says Ivan Choy of the Chinese University of Hong Kong. (Chinese Vice President Zeng Qinghong underscored the message last week when he said that for Hong Kong, “developing the economy is the eternal theme.”) But times may have changed. With the city’s economy still in the doldrums, criticism of the cozy relationship between tycoons and the government has been growing. The most hated man in Hong Kong is current Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa–a former shipping tycoon. And pro-democracy opposition parties are already planning a number of protests, including one timed to commemorate last July’s 500,000-person march. In the coming months Beijing is likely to hear more from its enemies than its friends.
