Britain has criticised Beijing's changes to the Hong Kong electoral system - but it also inspired them
These changes are widely seen as the latest example of Beijing's attempt not only to tighten its political grip over Hong Kong, but also to push it to become another Chinese city that mirrors mainland ways.
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In many curious ways, however, when Beijing tried to work out the new China-dominated political order for the city, its officials actually turned back the clock and drew inspiration from the colonial governance model that once served Hong Kong well.
Meanwhile, most policymaking was carried out by the powerful civil service.
Reporting to the governor directly, the Special Branch - a secret unit within the police that was called the Political Department in Chinese - was tasked with keeping tabs on activities, individuals, and groups deemed suspicious or potential threats to security and the interests of the colonial master.
The model of a strong executive-led government of appointed officials, free from political constraints, was seen as vital in Hong Kong's transformation into a financial and shipping hub in the 1980s because of its pro-business stance that included light regulation and low taxes as well as the rule of law.
Now, with the latest political developments, Beijing intends to strengthen the executive-led government by giving more authority to the Chief Executive and its principal officials.
The committee is largely composed of senior government officials, including the chief secretary, financial secretary, secretary for justice, secretary for security and police commissioner. The central government's chief representative in Hong Kong also sits on the committee.
According to the electoral changes, Lam's committee is now tasked with helping vet any potential candidate for public office and making recommendations to another newly formed candidate-vetting committee after studying investigative reports by the police's national security unit.
The new vetting committee, which will be composed of a small number of principal officials, will have the final say over the eligibility of the candidates, and its decisions cannot be challenged in court.
Moreover, the Hong Kong police's new national security unit, set up last year, was also modelled after the colonial-era Special Branch. The British government disbanded the intelligence unit in 1995, two years before the handover in 1997. Following the handover, Tung Chee-hwa, Hong Kong's first chief executive, was believed to have dismissed suggestions of reviving the intelligence unit, deeming it unnecessary and controversial.
Now, as the electoral overhaul has ensured that the pro-establishment camp will dominate Hong Kong politics and the political opposition that Beijing says hampers governance will be sidelined, a question remains - will the local leaders, who have a much freer hand in governing, deliver the goods by coming up with social and economic policies to tackle the city's deep-rooted issues including the widening wealth gap and unaffordable housing?
But he said only a minority of people in Hong Kong had a strong aversion to Beijing, while in fact, the majority disliked the city's current administration because of its incompetence - and that ill feeling had been accrued to Beijing.
"It means that as long as Beijing is not foolish in the future to support poor leaders, the hearts of Hong Kong people can to some extent be regained," he wrote.
Chan issued the blunt warning to Beijing as Hong Kong is scheduled to choose its next chief executive early next year under the new electoral system. Lam is expected to seek re-election, but other people including former chief executive Leung Chun-ying - with whom Chan has close ties - are widely tipped to join the race.
Now that Beijing has cleared the political hurdles, whoever wins the next chief executive race needs to perform better. For that to happen, it would not hurt the future local leaders to delve into history and draw inspiration as well.
This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (SCMP).
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