Carrie Lam: Don't mind being overtaken by Shenzhen, Hong Kong and Shenzhen have to cross each other

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the establishment of the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone. The Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Carrie Lam has served the people of Hong Kong for exactly 40 years. He is the well-known "Lin Tai" in Hong Kong. When Qin Yue, a reporter from Shenzhen Satellite TV & Direct News stationed in Hong Kong, began this interview, Mrs. Lin first talked about the Liantang-Xiangyuanwei Port, which was put into use more than a month ago. 

This was when she was the director of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Development Bureau. Leading an important project. The fate is wonderful, and Lin Tai's administrative experience is inseparable from Shenzhen.

 

Shenzhen and Hong Kong are separated by a river

"Cross the river" is the key word throughout this interview. Shenzhen and Hong Kong are separated by a river. This river is the Shenzhen River that flows between Shenzhen and Hong Kong. A winding Shenzhen River has witnessed the common growth of Hong Kong and Shenzhen. 

Today, the northern bank of the Shenzhen River is the bustling skyline of Futian District, Luohu District, Shenzhen, and the southern bank is the lush suburban mountains of the northern New Territories of Hong Kong. 

The "extraordinary introduction" of the Shenzhen-Hong Kong development policy in the Lok Ma Chau Loop, the planned upgrade and expansion of the Huanggang Port, the one-hour life circle between Shenzhen and Hong Kong, and the accelerating cooperation between the two places are also seen by the quietly flowing Shenzhen River.

 

In the future, how to link the two cities of special significance in China more closely will not be possible without the word "crossing the river". In the interview, Lin Tai talked about the "crossing the river" of funds and the "crossing the river" of talents. 

She emphasized that there are "a lot of opportunities" for cooperation between the two places in the fields of new economy, science and innovation, medical care, and education. 

This obviously echoes the major favorable policies released by the Party Central Committee and the State Council at the key node of the "Forty Time" in Shenzhen Special Economic Zone.

 

Shenzhen overtakes Hong Kong in economic indicators such as GDP

Regarding the topic "Shenzhen overtakes Hong Kong in economic indicators such as GDP", which is enthusiastically discussed in the public, 

Tai Lin does not shy away from it. She said that she didn't mind people always saying that Shenzhen's GDP has surpassed that of Hong Kong because she has confidence in Hong Kong's competitiveness and also has expectations for healthy competition and in-depth cooperation between the two places. 

“There are things that Hong Kong and other cities in the Mainland have not been able to do. Can they be combined with Shenzhen first?”

 She believes that the central government’s policy of giving the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone a trial and breakthrough innovation will enable the cooperation between Hong Kong and Shenzhen. In a brand new step.

 

One country, 2 systems

"One country, two systems" is also a high-frequency keyword in this interview. Mrs. Lin admitted that “it is really difficult to do things in Hong Kong.” Such difficulties stem from a series of livelihood issues left over from Hong Kong during the colonial period, and also from the great changes that have not been seen in a century and the international environment brought to Hong Kong. Direct impact. 

How Hong Kong faces the challenge, how to get out of the predicament, and how the cooperation between Shenzhen and Hong Kong can be an "antidote", Lin Tai speaks freely.

 

Moving from the west to the east

She specifically mentioned that affected by the epidemic, the global economy is changing. The trend of "moving from the west to the east" is obvious, and China's economic growth has recovered rapidly.

 In this context, the Hong Kong-Shenzhen Innovation Corridor is highly attractive and has great opportunities. As long as the time is hurry, Hong Kong will "not lose opportunities."

 

Carrie Lam

It is now autumn, and the challenge of the resurgence of the new crown epidemic cannot be ignored. Facing the public concern about "when will Shenzhen and Hong Kong resume customs clearance", and even more the public concern, Mrs. Lin gave her thoughts and answers.

 

"The small river flows southward and flows to the Xiangjiang River to take a look." The Shenzhen River has witnessed the magnificent history of the two "special zones". It is foreseeable that the development destiny of Hong Kong will become more closely connected with Shenzhen, which is separated by a river. together.

 Whether it is Shenzhen, a special economic zone in 40, or Hong Kong, a special administrative region in his early 20s, it is the time of youth to endeavor.

 

"Sing your enthusiasm, stretch out your hands, let me embrace your dream, let me have your sincere face, let our smiles be full of youthful pride, let us look forward to a better tomorrow."

 

The Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Carrie Lam accepts an exclusive interview with Qin Yue, a reporter from Shenzhen TV & Direct News in Hong Kong

 

Interview summary

On Hong Kong’s GDP being overtaken by Shenzhen: have confidence in Hong Kong and look forward to a new level of cooperation between Shenzhen and Hong Kong

 

I don't mind that people always say that Shenzhen's GDP has climbed to the top of Hong Kong, because Shenzhen has a richer population and land than us. However, in the future development, we also hope that the central government will continue to give the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone some first-plan, breakthrough, and innovative policies, so that the cooperation between Hong Kong and Shenzhen can be carried out on a brand-new platform.

 

I have confidence in people and companies in Hong Kong. Their competitiveness is strong and their adaptability is not bad. It is just that the current development of Hong Kong is somewhat constrained. 

As I said earlier, land is a big constraint. On the other hand, of course, our political environment is more complicated, far more complicated than Shenzhen. And we are very affected by the outside environment.

 

Hong Kong's advantage is derived from "one country, two systems", and the central government is unwavering in its policy of "one country, two systems." Therefore, under "one country, two systems", Hong Kong and Shenzhen should find opportunities that can enrich the "one country, two systems" and make Shenzhen better develop. I think these opportunities exist.

 

Talking about the Lok Ma Chau Loop: Shenzhen has given great support

It took a long time for the Lok Ma Chau Loop to find a plan to make good use of this piece of land, which is probably no more than one square kilometer, and it is not very large, one square kilometer. 

Here I am also very grateful to the leaders of Shenzhen for their extraordinary thinking, which has made a breakthrough in the long-stayed and unresolved issue of Hong Kong and Shenzhen. 

This leader is now the Governor of Guangdong Province, Mr. Ma Xingrui, when he was the Secretary of the Shenzhen Municipal Party Committee. 

He agreed to hand over land and title to Hong Kong for development. But everyone agrees that this project should benefit both places. So what is being built is a Hong Kong-Shenzhen Innovation and Technology Park.

 

Talk about the post-epidemic global economy: China's economic growth is good, Shenzhen-Hong Kong innovation cooperation is attractive

 

The global economy may be changing now, and many of them are moving from west to east, because everyone has seen that when everyone is affected by the epidemic, the only place that has such good economic growth is our country.

Hong Kong-Shenzhen innovation corridor is beneficial to both Hong Kong and Shenzhen

 Therefore, when these scientific research institutions want to settle down in the Asian region, in fact, to do it in the Hong Kong-Shenzhen innovation corridor is beneficial to both Hong Kong and Shenzhen. 

How can we strengthen the attractiveness of Hong Kong and Shenzhen in scientific research? 

Time is of the essence.

 

Talking about the policy address and revitalizing Hong Kong's economy: strengthening cooperation between Shenzhen and Hong Kong to create an international science and technology center

 

After more than half a year of the epidemic, all walks of life have been hit hard. Hong Kong's economy is expected to shrink by 6% to 8% this year. Therefore, the first thing to restore is confidence in Hong Kong's economic prospects, that is, our economy can rebound. 

To be honest, economic recovery is inseparable from integration with the mainland. I am confident that through our joint cooperation with Shenzhen, our goal in the next phase is to become an international technology center.

 

Talking about youth work: Let our younger generation master "One Country, Two Systems"

In recent years, there has been a trend in Hong Kong that overemphasizes local culture, and some people exclude the mainland and people from the mainland, but I think these are a small number of people. 

However, the behavior of these small groups of people is often expanded through social media or reports, which makes people in the mainland a little uncomfortable. That is why everyone is in the same country. 

When they travel (Hong Kong), they will be treated impolitely. I believe that slowly passing time can be reversed. Of course, the main job is here in Hong Kong. We need to stabilize the situation, and then through public education and school education, let our younger generation master the "one country, two systems" and know more about what is best for their own development.

 

The following is the full text of the interview

Qin Yue: Mrs. Lin, you joined the government in 1980, and it has been 40 years now. On August 26, you attended the ceremony at the Liantang-Xiangyuanwei Port. At that time, we were standing at the Hong Kong Port for an interview. Did you take charge of this project as the Hong Kong team leader when you were the Secretary for Development?

 

Carrie Lam: In the past ten years, I have cooperated very closely with Shenzhen. When I served as Director of the Special Administrative Region Development Bureau from 2007 to 2012, one of the most important tasks was the development of the Hong Kong-Shenzhen border area. 

There are at least a few big projects, one of course is a port. At that time, it was hoped to build a new port connecting Shenzhen and eastern Hong Kong. At that time, the east port had been built for a long time, and the service facilities were not very good, so everyone wanted to build a new port, which is the current Liantang-Xiangyuanwei port.

 

Another project is of course the Lok Ma Chau Loop that many people talk about now is such a historically valuable piece of land. After several years of discussions, at the end of 2016, it was decided to hand over to Hong Kong to build a Hong Kong-Shenzhen Innovation and Technology Park. 

The third project is less talked about, that is, everyone will work together to manage the Shenzhen River. Because we are a city with two banks of one river, whether the Shenzhen River has pollution or drainage problems, it will affect the cities and citizens on both sides of the river. 

Therefore, we have been doing the governance of the Shenzhen River since before the reunification. We did it in stages and stages. Up to now, we have basically completed the governance of the Shenzhen River. 

These projects were all undertaken by the Development Bureau at that time, so the cooperation between Shenzhen and I in infrastructure construction was very close.

 

During my tenure as Chief Secretary for Administration, we had a high-level Shenzhen-Hong Kong cooperation meeting. I directly served as the chairman of the Hong Kong side in this high-level cooperation. 

My counterpart was the mayor of Shenzhen. , Business, and even culture, creative industries, education, and medical care that I am particularly concerned about are discussed in high-level meetings.

 

Of course, I am now the Chief Executive, especially in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. I believe Hong Kong-Shenzhen cooperation is even more promising.

Qin Yue: Actually looking at both sides of the Shenzhen River, the high-rise buildings on the Shenzhen side, such as the Futian CBD, have developed very well, but the Hong Kong side of the Shenzhen River has always been relatively barren.

 As the chief executive of the special zone, would you consider the future? 

What is the development blueprint for the northern part of the New Territories?

 

Carrie Lam: There are historical reasons for the current land use situation. In the past, Hong Kong mainly referred to Hong Kong Island, which started from the urban area. 

The northern part of Hong Kong is a remote place, so these places have not been developed, and some facilities that are not very popular in the urban area are even placed in the northern district. Shenzhen was just the opposite. 

When Shenzhen was reforming and opening up, it was just as close to Hong Kong as it was. Therefore, its development started from the north of Shenzhen River, so it has formed such a big gap now.

 

But I think that over time, there will be a change in this development. Because Hong Kong needs more land now, most of the development projects we are currently doing are in the North District of the New Territories. Whether it is Fanling, Sheung Shui, Kwu Tung, and Ta Kwu Ling, these are all in the North District of the New Territories. 

Therefore, in the future, we should gradually see that in the Hong Kong area south of the Shenzhen River, more and more citizens will live here and there will be commercial activities.

 

But there is a place that I think the Hong Kong and Shenzhen governments should cherish and protect, that is wetlands. There is a protected international-class wetland in Hong Kong, and there are mangrove forests in Shenzhen. Therefore, I think the two governments should pay attention to conservation during the period of simultaneous development.

 

Qin Yue: This year marks the 40th anniversary of the establishment of the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone. You mentioned earlier that there are different developments in Shenzhen-Hong Kong cooperation at different stages.

 If you look at the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone from the perspective of Hong Kong, what do you think of the cooperation in different stages? 

An impressive event?

 

Carrie Lam: I think in the early days, the state established the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone because it saw that Shenzhen was close to Hong Kong. Hong Kong has developed well in the 1970s and 1980s, but the development of Hong Kong at that time was already facing the bottleneck of land and manpower. 

Therefore, the basis of mutual benefit between Shenzhen and Hong Kong is very large. The early cooperation between Hong Kong and Shenzhen was mainly for Hong Kong businessmen to invest in Shenzhen, because Shenzhen had a large supply of land and manpower.

 In the later stage, Shenzhen developed very well, with financial industry and advanced manufacturing industry. Today, Shenzhen has become a world-renowned science and innovation city. So I think that in the next stage, Hong Kong-Shenzhen cooperation should be towards the "new economy". 

The direction of development includes the development of innovative technology, creative culture, and design. Because Shenzhen is also the "design capital", Hong Kong has also been vigorously promoting the design industry in recent years by the SAR government.

 

Qin Yue: The country has issued a policy to strongly support the development of Shenzhen, and Shenzhen’s GDP has surpassed that of Hong Kong. Some people say whether Shenzhen will replace Hong Kong. What do you think of these remarks?

 

Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor: Hong Kong's advantage stems from "one country, two systems", and the central government is unwavering in its policy of "one country, two systems". Therefore, under "One Country, Two Systems", Hong Kong and Shenzhen should find opportunities that can enrich the "One Country, Two Systems" and make Shenzhen better develop. 

I think these opportunities exist. For example, because Hong Kong is under the protection of the Basic Law, we have the freedom of capital in and out, the freedom of currency exchange, the legal system in line with international standards, and a large number of professional service personnel. 

These can be matched with Shenzhen's current technological innovation capabilities and advanced manufacturing. 

So I feel that there may not be a direct competition between Hong Kong and Shenzhen. But sometimes when it comes to certain specific jobs, will there be some competition between companies? 

Or will there be competition among professionals? I think these are inevitable and even healthy. I also don’t expect all Hong Kong companies or professionals to work in Shenzhen with special discounts, because everyone is developing their own businesses in a fair competitive environment.

 

But I have confidence in people and companies in Hong Kong. They are very competitive and have good adaptability. It is just that the current development of Hong Kong is somewhat constrained. 

As I said earlier, land is a big constraint. On the other hand, of course, our political environment is more complicated, far more complicated than Shenzhen. And we are very affected by the outside environment. 

Therefore, in this respect, if there is more and broader development space for some individuals, enterprises, especially young people, if they are willing to go to a market with greater potential for development, our SAR government must welcome this.

 

Qin Yue: Now Shenzhen also has a land bottleneck problem. Everyone also looks forward to what messages the leaders' important speeches will bring out after they arrive in Shenzhen.

 In your opinion, what are the state's support policies for Shenzhen that Hong Kong would like to see, which can promote the development of Hong Kong and Shenzhen each other, and even the development of the entire Greater Bay Area?

 

Carrie Lam: First of all, in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, Hong Kong and Shenzhen are the two closest cities. On the one hand, we have been in good contact in history, and on the other hand, we have close humanities exchanges. 

Many Hong Kong people now live in Shenzhen and work in Hong Kong. Thirdly, to date, Hong Kong is still the largest source of foreign investment in Shenzhen, with more than 80,000 Hong Kong companies developing in Shenzhen. 

Therefore, in the Guangdong-Hong Kong Greater Bay Area, which has a population of 70 million and its economic growth is very vigorous, it should be the two cities that can play their respective potentials together to expand our economy.

 So I don’t mind people always saying that Shenzhen’s GDP has climbed to the top of Hong Kong, because after all, Shenzhen has a richer population and land than us.

 

But for future development, we also hope that the central government will continue to give the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone some pilot, breakthrough, and innovative policies so that the cooperation between Hong Kong and Shenzhen can be carried out on a brand-new platform. 

There are some things that Hong Kong and other provinces and cities in the Mainland have not been able to do. Can they be combined with Shenzhen first? 

Then the scope is very broad, including financial, business or legal services, and even some of our professionals, hoping to exempt them from needing to be reassessed to provide services (restrictions). I hope that these can be in Shenzhen, including Qianhai, Because Qianhai is a modern service industry area, it can be done.

 

Qin Yue: If we talk about the integration of Shenzhen and Hong Kong specifically, such as the "one-hour living circle" and other livelihood services we talked about before, what other aspects can be further deepened in the future based on the current situation?

 

Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor: Hong Kong and Shenzhen can already achieve the "one-hour living circle", and it is fast now, especially with the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong high-speed rail. Of course, due to the epidemic, this good high-speed rail has been suspended for a while. 

But I believe that such an important infrastructure can last forever. Now Hong Kong is closer to Futian and Shenzhen North than Hong Kong Island to the New Territories.

 

So in terms of infrastructure, the focus now is that we hope to optimize the ports. As I mentioned earlier, with the opening of the Liantang Xiangyuanwei Port, we are very willing to cooperate with Shenzhen’s east-in and east-out, west-in and west-out layout, so we will allocate some freight to the east and west ports so that the middle port can be used in the past few years can be improved and optimized. I know that Shenzhen is already actively promoting the reconstruction of Huanggang Port, and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government is also willing to participate. 

With good infrastructure, can there be policies to make people flow more convenient?

 Of course, we will reconsider this, especially now that there are so many technologies that can work together to make it easier for the people of the two places to travel.

 

Just now you mentioned education. If you want to do a good job in innovation and technology, education is actually a very important support. In this respect, let me say that the advantage lies in Hong Kong. 

We have very good universities, of which four or five are among the top 100 universities in the world, and several of them have strong scientific research capabilities, especially some basic research. But what is lacking is how to transform these basic research in laboratories and universities into commercial services and commercial products that are beneficial to people's livelihood and the economy. This requires a city like Shenzhen capable of advanced manufacturing.

 So combining these two together, I think Hong Kong and Shenzhen to build an international-level innovation and technology center is really just around the corner. But of course there must be central policies. 

For example, we said that we really want to do biotechnology research and R&D, but the two places have two different sets of registration policies and laws, so how can we use an innovative method to allow everyone to do biotechnology and medical care under their respective laws and policies? Innovative people can work more closely together. This is something we need to explore further.

 

But in any case, at least in Shenzhen, or even other mainland cities in the Greater Bay Area, I encourage higher education institutions in Hong Kong to consider setting up campuses. This can give us more opportunities to take advantage of Hong Kong’s superior education, Research capabilities are developed in Shenzhen and the Greater Bay Area. 

Now the Chinese University of Hong Kong has a branch in Shenzhen, and this campus was also started by Secretary Wang Yang and I. In just seven or eight years, as far as I know, it has become a mainland university that mainland college entrance examination students are eager to enter. 

Therefore, it would be very helpful if more of these Hong Kong universities can set up branch campuses in the Greater Bay Area.

 

On the other hand, the University of Hong Kong has a hospital in Shenzhen. Whether this hospital in Shenzhen can further become a teaching hospital that supports the University of Hong Kong School of Medicine is something that everyone can discuss. I know that the University of Hong Kong is also studying related aspects. 

Therefore, there are actually plenty of opportunities for cooperation between Shenzhen and Hong Kong in terms of education, scientific innovation, or the transformation of scientific research.

 

Qin Yue: The Lok Ma Chau Loop is expected to be completed in six years. The Loop is also one of the projects when you were the director of the Development Bureau. Do you think the development efficiency is okay? What are the practical benefits for Hong Kong and Shenzhen?

Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor: This Lok Ma Chau Loop is a solution that everyone found after a long period of time. It can make good use of this piece of land, which is less than one square kilometer, and it is not very large, one square kilometer. Here I am very grateful to the leaders of Shenzhen for their extraordinary thinking, which has made a breakthrough in the Hong Kong-Shenzhen issue, which has been stagnated for a long time and has been negotiable. 

This leader is the current governor of Guangdong Province, Mr. Ma Xingrui. He was the secretary of the Shenzhen Municipal Party Committee at the time. He agreed to hand over the land and title to Hong Kong for development by Hong Kong, but everyone agreed that this project should be affordable for both places. Well, so what we are building is a Hong Kong-Shenzhen Innovation and Technology Park.

 

In fact, Hong Kong’s engineering efficiency is very high, but we have a lot of preliminary work, including a lot of planning work, and a lot of environmental protection assessment work, especially because this piece of land is the loop of the Shenzhen River, so the preliminary work was spent time. 

Now we estimate that we hope to hand over the first batch of land to build buildings in two years, so we can move in in two years. Of course, I also hope that it can be faster, because there are many scientific research institutions or companies that are interested in the innovation and technology park in the Lok Ma Chau Loop, but it will take a few years before there is a place for them. 

So if during this period, there is a park in Shenzhen where they can settle down first, it will be very advantageous, and we will not lose the opportunity, because now the global economy may be changing, and many are moving from the west to the east. 

Everyone has seen that when the world is affected by the epidemic, the only place with such good economic growth is our country. So when these scientific research institutions want to come to Asia, especially our country, if they choose to do it in the Hong Kong-Shenzhen innovation corridor, it will be beneficial to both Hong Kong and Shenzhen.

 

So how can we enhance the attractiveness of Hong Kong and Shenzhen in scientific research? 

Time is short. So I will also study this topic together with Shenzhen.

 

On August 31, 2017, Carrie Lam led a team to inspect Qianhai and planted a red-flowered bauhinia tree with Wang Weizhong, secretary of the Shenzhen Municipal Party Committee, as a symbol of cooperation between Shenzhen and Hong Kong to create prosperity.

 

Qin Yue: If you want to attract more world companies or young potential companies to move into this park, are there any further preferential policies here in Hong Kong? Can you disclose it first?

 

Carrie Lam: In recent years, we have actually introduced a lot of policies and invested a lot of resources in innovation and technology. In terms of policy, we have an entry policy specifically for the introduction of talents in science and technology. It is a bit more relaxed than other foreigners entering Hong Kong to work, and the procedures are also very streamlined. It encourages companies that want to introduce talents from home and abroad. 

We apply for a quota, and then these companies can find people according to the conditions, and then if they invite people to Hong Kong, we will issue them work visas. This is a policy.

 

On the other hand, there are many policies in our science park to assist in the incubation of start-ups. There are many scientific research projects in universities, some outstanding scholarship projects, and we are also funding some science and technology enterprises, which can hire postdoctoral students to participate in the work. 

However, I hope that I can "cross the river" in the future for this huge burden. In other words, Hong Kong should not only have these preferential policies. These preferential policies can also be effective in the Guangshen Innovation Corridor.

 

Not to mention the resources. Since I took office three years ago, I have pledged to invest up to 100 billion Hong Kong dollars in science and technology resources. 

Therefore, given the money and policies, the most lacking now is talents. In Hong Kong, there is still some lack of land. Well, Hong Kong and Shenzhen will join hands to combine everyone’s policies to jointly promote and jointly attract talents from overseas or other provinces and cities in the Mainland.

 I think it is very attractive to gather in this area. I am also in Shenzhen now. City explored.

 

Qin Yue: Hong Kong’s talents are highly competitive, but Mrs. Lin has just mentioned that Hong Kong’s society has been relatively turbulent in recent years, and its politics is far more complicated than Shenzhen. Will political and economic factors affect Hong Kong and other cities in the Greater Bay Area? Fusion creates some resistance?

 

Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor: There has been a trend in Hong Kong in recent years that emphasizes local culture too much, and some people reject the mainland and people from the mainland, but I think these are a small number of people. However, the behavior of these small groups of people is often expanded through social media or reports, which makes people in the mainland a little uncomfortable. That is why everyone is in the same country. 

When they travel (Hong Kong), they will be treated impolitely. I believe that slowly passing time can be reversed. Of course, the main job is here in Hong Kong. We need to stabilize the situation, and then through public education and school education, let our younger generation master the "one country, two systems" and know more about what is best for their own development. 

We also need to do more publicity and promotion to citizens in the Mainland. In fact, Hong Kong is still a hospitable capital and still welcomes friends from the Mainland. So I also asked us to have five offices in the Mainland. Shenzhen is not an office, but a contact point, but we have a large office in Guangzhou. 

We have offices in Shanghai, Chengdu, Wuhan, and Beijing. In the days to come, more promotion work will be done so that the people in the Mainland can understand the situation in Hong Kong.

 

But the most effective way to get these young people who are still unwilling to enter the mainland is to let them try. Therefore, we have never given up, and we have never reduced our opportunities for young people to go to the mainland for internships, exchanges, work and even entrepreneurship just because a small group of people have a mentality to exclude the mainland. 

Through our youth development fund in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, we will fund the establishment of a number of entrepreneurial bases. Cities all over the Greater Bay Area are very supportive. They have provided some office buildings and some venues, and also gave Hong Kong young people some preferential policies that local young people can enjoy; sometimes it will be even better, such as talent apartments.

 

So over time, when these young people see opportunities for their own career development, they can reduce their sense of resistance. After the opening of the Liantang Port, I also went to Futian to visit an entrepreneurial area. 

There were also many Hong Kong teams, all of whom were very young graduates from various universities in Hong Kong, together with their professors. From these young people, you can't see the phenomenon you just mentioned or the phenomenon I just mentioned. 

They really see that there are many opportunities for development here, and the living environment is not bad at all. Some even married and had children locally and lived in Shenzhen. Therefore, the integration of the two places is the general trend. As the SAR government, of course we have to make some co-ordination with policies, and we must also put more effort in publicity and education.

 

Qin Yue: Mr. Lin, you just shared your visit to the entrepreneurial zone. At that time, you had contact with the young people and professors in Hong Kong. Are they satisfied with the entrepreneurial environment in Shenzhen?

 

Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor: I visited that day and at least chatted with five or six teams. They are very positive and positive, and feel that working there and looking for opportunities are quite satisfactory to them. Of course, they will also ask if there is any policy in Hong Kong to help them who develop in Shenzhen. 

As I said earlier, our next step is to make the cooperation between Hong Kong and Shenzhen more seamless. There is still a sense of distance. You are in Hong Kong and Shenzhen is over there; Hong Kong funds are used in Hong Kong, and Shenzhen funds cannot "cross the river". 

How can the flow of people, logistics, capital, and information be more unimpeded and able to walk around the two places? I think this is the direction of our future work.

 

Qin Yue: You just said that you hope the two cities will cooperate seamlessly in the future, but in fact, for example, we talked about voting in the Greater Bay Area a few days ago, and some people immediately bounced back.

 

Carrie Lam: (laughs) It is really difficult to do things in Hong Kong, right? Every time I go to Shenzhen, the leaders of Shenzhen care about me and even sympathize with me. 

This is because if you do things inside, you can do it. In Hong Kong, you really need to face difficulties and overcome all difficulties to do one thing. But as long as it is good for Hong Kong and the people of Hong Kong, especially for the next generation of Hong Kong, these tasks are worth doing, and we will continue to listen to the voice of society.

 For example, you just mentioned that Hong Kong registered voters in the Mainland can vote. This is the demand of the society, and this is the voice heard from the society. In addition to the development of Hong Kong’s integration into the Mainland, many policies also encourage Hong Kong people to live in the Mainland for a period of time or to study. 

How can these Hong Kong people who cannot vote in some elections vote? This is a very real problem that needs to be explored. Especially after this epidemic, no one can think of it. It's close at hand, but it really can't come back. So this is a question that should be actually explored.

 

Qin Yue: Speaking of the epidemic, Hong Kong's health code is ready. We say that many Hong Kong people live in Shenzhen and commute to work.

 Is there a specific date for customs clearance or a list of exemptions for customs clearance personnel? Do you have any relevant details to disclose?

 

Carrie Lam: I now hope that more people from the two places can go back and forth. At present, it is mainly subject to the 14-day compulsory quarantine requirement. You can imagine that someone can come now, but he will have to be quarantined in Hong Kong for 14 days when he comes, and he will have to be quarantined for 14 days when he returns. 

These 28 days have become the difficulty of being unable to return and travel normally.

 

There are some prerequisites to ensure that both sides are under the prerequisite of epidemic prevention and anti-epidemic, and they can safely exempt the 14 days. First, the epidemic situation in the two places must be stable. Shenzhen is very stable. There have been no local cases in the Mainland for more than ten days. 

Unfortunately, Hong Kong has experienced the third wave of the epidemic for nearly two months, and there have been signs of a rebound in the last two or three days. This is because we need to better control the epidemic.

 

In addition, in terms of testing, even if there is no quarantine, there must be nucleic acid testing for insurance. In this regard, we have greatly improved our testing capabilities in the past few months, but the problem is that the price is not popular enough, and everyone thinks it is still very expensive, so we still have to do this work. 

On the contrary, the technical development of the (health code) has already been completed, so for Hong Kong, as long as someone applies for this process, there is a quota that can enter the mainland. With the quota, he went to find a laboratory and performed a nucleic acid test. 

The negative result of the nucleic acid test must be put on his mobile phone by our health authorities, then he can show it out as a certificate when he passes the customs. We have already done this, but we have to wait until the conditions mentioned just now are ripe before we can launch it.

 

Qin Yue: This year's policy address will be announced soon. How can we help Hong Kong society to increase confidence in the future? What are your own future work goals?

 

Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor: After more than half a year of the epidemic, all walks of life have been hit hard. Hong Kong's economy is expected to shrink by 6% to 8% this year. Therefore, the first thing to restore is confidence in Hong Kong's economic prospects, in other words ours. 

The economy can rebound. To be honest, Hong Kong’s economic recovery is inseparable from integration with the Mainland. With the support of the central government's policy, we must return to what we just said that personnel exchanges and commercial activities between the two places can be resumed, and the possibility of our economic recovery is high. So in this regard, I am also striving for the policies of the central government. 

I also hope that the Hong Kong society will take advantage of this time to enhance some of its abilities, especially its ability to adapt after the epidemic. Because after the outbreak, there have been some changes to some of the service models that we are used to. Now we rarely meet face-to-face, all of which are video meetings. Even in teaching, there is a lot of e-learning. Therefore, to adapt to this new normal, both companies and individuals need to make some adjustments. The SAR government will cooperate with these related tasks in terms of resources.

 

Looking back at history, Hong Kong has experienced many economic crises, and each time it has been able to turn danger into a breeze, and will do better in the future, thus becoming the world's international financial center and commercial center. I am confident that through our joint cooperation with Shenzhen, Hong Kong's goal in the next phase is to become an international technological innovation center.

Carrie Lam Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region: The Shenzhen Special Administrative Region is a pilot zone for the country's reform, opening up, and modernization. In the past 40 years, through the support of the central government and the bold innovation and dare to experiment by Shenzhen leaders, a world-class economic miracle has been created. 

This year is the 40th anniversary of the establishment of the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone. I would like to extend my heartfelt congratulations to all my colleagues in Shenzhen. It can be said that Hong Kong is an active participant in the development of the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone. 

Of course, we are also contributors and beneficiaries. I hope that in the future development of the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone, Hong Kong and Shenzhen can continue to work together to reach a new level.

Full Compilation of Standards for Conviction and Sentencing at the Filing Stage-False Litigation Crime

Interpretation of the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate on Several Issues Concerning the Application of Law in Handling Criminal Cases of False Litigation

 

(Adopted at the 1732th meeting of the Judicial Committee of the Supreme People’s Court on January 25, 2018, and adopted at the second meeting of the 13th Procuratorial Committee of the Supreme People’s Procuratorate on June 13, 2018, and implemented on October 1, 2018)

 

Law Interpretation (2018) No. 17

In order to punish false litigation and criminal activities in accordance with the law, maintain judicial order, and protect the legitimate rights and interests of citizens, legal persons and other organizations, according to the "Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China", "Criminal Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China" and "Civil Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China" and other legal provisions, several issues concerning the application of law in handling such criminal cases are explained as follows:

  

Article 1 

Anyone who uses methods such as forging evidence or false statements to commit one of the following acts, fabricating civil legal relationships, fabricating civil disputes, and filing a civil lawsuit in the people’s court shall be deemed as Article 307 of the Criminal Law, Paragraph 1 The stipulated “initiate a civil lawsuit based on fabricated facts”:

 

(1) Maliciously colluding with one of the spouses to fabricate joint debts between the husband and wife

 (2) Maliciously colluding with others, fabricating creditor's rights and debt relations and debt settlement agreements

 (3) With the legal representatives, directors, supervisors, and supervisors of companies and enterprises managers or other management personnel maliciously collude to fabricate the debts or guarantee obligations of the company or enterprise

(4) Fabricate intellectual property infringement relationships or unfair competition relationships

(5) Declare fabricated claims during the trial of a bankruptcy case

(6) ) Maliciously colluding with the person subject to enforcement, fabricating creditor's rights, or the priority or security of property rights to be sealed, seized, or frozen

(7) Unilateral or maliciously colluding with others, fabricating civil legal relationships such as identity, contract, tort, inheritance Other behaviors.

 

To conceal the fact that the debts have been fully paid off, bring a civil lawsuit to the people’s court, and demand others to perform the debt, the argument is that the civil lawsuit is filed with fabricated facts.

 

Applying to the people’s court to enforce an arbitration award or notarized creditor’s right document made based on fabricated facts, or using fabricated facts in the process of civil execution to object to the subject of execution, or to apply for participation in the distribution of the execution of property, belongs to Article 307 of the Criminal Law 1. 

"Civil lawsuits are initiated on the basis of fabricated facts" as stipulated in the first paragraph.

 

Article 2

 Where a civil lawsuit is filed based on fabricated facts in any of the following circumstances, it shall be deemed as “hindering the judicial order or seriously infringing the lawful rights and interests of others” as stipulated in the first paragraph of Article 307 of the Criminal Law:

 

(1) Causing the people’s court to take property preservation or behavior preservation measures based on fabricated facts

(2) Causing the people’s court to hold trial sessions and interfering with normal judicial activities

(3) Causing the people’s court to issue judgment documents and make property based on fabricated facts Distribution plan, or filing a case to execute an arbitration award or notarized creditor’s right document made based on fabricated facts

 (4) Civil litigation has been filed with fabricated facts many times

 (5) Civil action has been taken because of fabricated facts Compulsory measures or criminal prosecution

 (6) Other circumstances that hinder judicial order or seriously infringe the lawful rights and interests of others.

 

Article 3

 Where a civil lawsuit is filed based on fabricated facts and one of the following circumstances shall be deemed to be "serious circumstances" as stipulated in the first paragraph of Article 307 of the Criminal Law:

 

(1) There is a situation in Item 1 of Article 2 of this Interpretation, causing economic losses of more than one million yuan

 (2) There is one of the situations in Items 2 to 4 of Article 2 of this Interpretation, which seriously interferes with normal judicial activities Or seriously impair judicial credibility

(3) Cause the obligor to automatically perform the property payment obligations determined in the effective judgment document or the people's court enforces property rights and interests, and the amount reaches more than one million yuan

(4) Causes the debt of others to be unfulfilled, the amount Reaching one million yuan or more

(5) Illegal possession of another person’s property in the amount of more than 100,000 yuan

(6) causing others to be taken criminal detention or arrest for the execution of a judgment or ruling made by the people’s court based on fabricated facts, or subject to criminal investigation

(7) Other serious circumstances.

 

Article 4

 The act of implementing the first paragraph of Article 307 of the Criminal Law, illegally occupying other people’s property or evading legal debts, constitutes the crime of fraud, embezzlement by office, refusal to execute judgments, convictions, corruption, and other crimes,

 In accordance with the provisions of heavier punishments, convicted and punished severely.

 

Article 5

Judicial personnel who use their powers to jointly perform the first three paragraphs of Article 307 of the Criminal Law with others shall be severely punished. 

At the same time they constitute the crime of abuse of power, the crime of civil violation of the law, execution of judgments, rulings of abuse of power, etc. 

Whoever commits a crime shall be convicted and punished severely in accordance with the provisions of heavier punishment.

 

Article 6

 Litigation agents, witnesses, evaluators and other litigation participants conspire with others to initiate false civil lawsuits, deliberately give false testimony or issue false authentication opinions, and jointly implement the first three paragraphs of Article 307 of the Criminal Law If the crime is convicted and punished in accordance with the provisions of a joint crime. 

If it also constitutes a crime of obstructing testimony, helping to destroy or forging evidence, etc., it shall be convicted and punished in accordance with the more severe punishment.

 

Article 7

 Where the use of forgery of evidence or other means to falsify the facts of the case and defraud people’s court judgment documents constitutes a crime, criminal responsibility shall be investigated in accordance with the provisions of Article 280 and Article 307 of the Criminal Law.

 

Article 8

 Where a unit implements the act in the first paragraph of Article 307 of the Criminal Law, the person in charge and other directly responsible persons shall be convicted and punished in accordance with the conviction and sentencing standards stipulated in this interpretation, and the unit shall be fined.

 

Article 9

 The implementation of the first paragraph of Article 307 of the Criminal Law did not meet the criteria for serious circumstances, the perpetrator was a first offender, and he voluntarily repented during the civil procedure, accepted the decision of the people’s court, actively returned the stolen goods and refunded compensation 

If the circumstances of the crime are considered to be minor, no prosecution or criminal punishment shall be imposed; if it is really necessary to impose a penalty, a lenient punishment may be imposed.

 

Where judicial personnel use their powers to jointly implement the first paragraph of Article 307 of the Criminal Law, the provisions of paragraph one of this article shall not apply to judicial personnel.

 

Article 10

 Criminal cases of false litigation shall be under the jurisdiction of the people's court at the location of the accepting court of false civil litigation or the place where the executing court is located. 

In the case of the fourth paragraph of Article 307 of the Criminal Law, the people's court at a higher level may designate a people's court at a lower level to transfer the case to another people's court for trial.

 

Article 11

 The judgment document mentioned in this interpretation refers to the judgment, ruling, mediation statement, payment order and other documents made by the people's court in accordance with the Civil Procedure Law, Enterprise Bankruptcy Law and other civil laws.

 

Article 12

 This interpretation shall come into effect on October 1, 2018.

Conclusion

What really matter in law is implementation whether it is criminal or civil. This is just a rough idea if not implemented.

 

 

Interpretation of Supreme Law Cases: Buildings without housing ownership certificates can be compensated when they are demolished

For an unlicensed house that has not obtained a house ownership certificate due to historical reasons, it should not be directly identified as an illegal building by the administrative agency without sufficient evidence to prove that the unlicensed house is an illegal building.

 

Who will determine the unit price of compensation?

The administrative agency and the people's court shall determine the unit price of compensation per square meter after comprehensively considering the historical reasons for the failure to register the property rights, the value of the land, the source of the house, and the lowest average transaction price of the surrounding commercial houses for sale when the houses involved were removed.

 

Pan Yumin sued the sub-district office for performance of compensation duties

On July 19, 1995, the Shaling Credit Cooperative in Yuhong District of Shenyang City and the Feixiang Meat Products Factory in Tiexi District of Shenyang City signed a real estate and land transfer agreement.

 The Shaling Credit Cooperative transferred all of its property with a certificate of 1,100 square meters. Land and all facilities in the hospital were transferred to Feixiang Meat Products Factory for a total price of RMB 560,000.

 

On August 3, 1995, Shenyang Feixiang Meat Products Factory was registered and established, the legal representative was Pan Yumin, and the nature of the enterprise was a collective of the town.

 

On August 15, 1995, Shenyang Feixiang Meat Products Factory obtained a house photo with a construction area of ​​1,100 square meters. Pan Yumin stated that the company had not been registered.

 

On March 5, 1998, Shenyang Yumin Meat Products Factory was established, the person in charge is Pan Yumin, and the economic nature is a wholly-owned private enterprise.

 

On July 29, 2003, Shenyang Jinfeng Meat Products Factory, as a land user, obtained a collective land use certificate for industrial use and an area of ​​4,603.76 square meters.

 

On December 25, 2008, the Yuhong District Government issued a land acquisition announcement that Pan Yumin’s case involved houses and land within the scope of acquisition.

 

On July 18, 2011, Shenyang City Yuhong District Urban and Rural Construction Administration, Shenyang City Yuhong District Shaling Sub-district Office, and Shenyang City Management Administrative Law Enforcement Bureau Yuhong Branch jointly made the letter of Shencheng Xing Xingzhilianzhi (2011) 

Demolition Decision within a Time Limit

The Shaling-026 "Demolition Decision within a Time Limit" decided to demolish the ground objects and auxiliary facilities involved in this case within a time limit. 

The reason for the application recorded in the "Approval Form for Mandatory Demolition of Illegal Buildings" is "the expropriation of houses in Shaling Auxiliary City to demolish unlicensed houses".

 

In September 2011, the ground objects involved in this case were forcibly demolished.

On December 27, 2018, the Higher People’s Court of Liaoning Province issued a second-instance judgment, ruling that the People’s Government of Yuhong District, Shenyang City, should pay Pan Yumin RMB 4,840,000 in compensation for housing with a certificate, and RMB 389,465 in compensation for Pan Yumin’s other ground attachments and fruit trees and Pan Yumin.

 Yumin's non-ownership housing compensation was 1,948,292 yuan, and Pan Yumin was paid 1,341,739 yuan for land compensation and interest.

 

2020.06.18, the Supreme People’s Court of the People’s Republic of China (2019) Supreme Law Xingshen No. 7904 Administrative Ruling, rejected the retrial application of the retrial applicant by the People’s Government of Yuhong District, Shenyang City, Liaoning Province.

 

Supreme Court opinion: Although the house has no real estate file, it is a historical issue, and it is not improper to obtain compensation for the land involved in the case.

 

There are 3 reasons for the highest determination that the unlicensed houses should be compensated:

First, when Pan Yumin provided the People's Court with evidence such as the "House Photo" and the deed tax certificate, the 1,100-square-meter house involved in the case has no real estate file but is a historical issue, and compensation is based on the licensed house and business house There is nothing wrong.

 

Second, the "Certificate" issued by the sub-district office confirmed that the non-ownership house involved in the case was built in 1976. It was originally an office house of the township people’s government. 

It was also legally purchased by Pan Yumin from the Shaling Credit Cooperative. There was no house ownership certificate. Its historical reasons. If the Hong District Government has not submitted sufficient evidence to prove that it is an illegal building, it should not be considered an illegal building.

 

Third, the land involved in the case belongs to collective construction land, which Pan Yumin legally purchased from Shaling Credit Cooperative in 1995, has obtained a collective land use certificate in accordance with the law, and enjoys the right to possess, use and obtain profits.

 

 

Attachment: Original Judgment Document

 

Supreme People's Court of the People's Republic of China

 

Administrative ruling

 

(2019) Supreme Law Xing Shen No. 7904

 

Applicant for retrial (defendant in first instance, appellant in second instance): People's Government of Yuhong District, Shenyang City, Liaoning Province.

 

Address: No. 37, Huanghai Road, Yuhong District, Shenyang City, Liaoning Province.

 

Legal representative: Wang Qinghai, the head of the district people’s government.

 

Entrusted litigation agent: Tang Ning, lawyer of Liaoning Tongfang Law Firm.

 

Respondent (plaintiff in the first instance, appellant in the second instance): Pan Yumin, male, born on May 20, 1963, Han nationality, living in Liaoning Province.

 

Appellee in the second instance (defendant in the first instance): Shaling Sub-district Office, Yuhong District, Shenyang City, Liaoning Province.

 

Domicile: Shaling Village, Shaling Street, Yuhong District, Shenyang City, Liaoning Province.

 

Legal representative: Jin Xiaowen, director of the office.

 

The retrial applicant, Yuhong District People’s Government of Shenyang City, Liaoning Province (hereinafter referred to as Yuhong District Government), has performed compensation duties due to Pan Yumin suing him and Shaling Sub-district Office of Yuhong District, Shenyang City, Liaoning Province (hereinafter referred to as Shaling Sub-district Office) In one case, the Liaoning Provincial Higher People's Court (2018) Liao Xing Zhong No. 1519 Administrative Judgment was dissatisfied and applied to this court for a retrial. 

This court formed a collegial panel in accordance with the law and reviewed the case, which has now been concluded.

 

The Yuhong District Government applied to this court for retrial on the grounds that the court judged it to pay Pan Yumin's land compensation fees, compensate for the illegally constructed houses involved in the case, and compensate the houses with property rights certificates involved in the case at 4,400 yuan per square meter without legal basis, etc. 

 Request: Revocation of the second-instance judgment; dismissed Pan Yumin’s request for compensation for land compensation and illegally built houses, and changed the judgment to compensate Pan Yumin for a house of 1,100 square meters according to the compensation standard for unlicensed houses.

 

This court believes that the focus of the dispute in this case is the compensation of 1,100 square meters of property certificated houses, non-ownership houses and land. 

First of all, the house with the title certificate was originally the office building of the township people's government, and later it was the business place of the Shaling Credit Cooperative (hereinafter referred to as the Shaling Credit Cooperative) in Yuhong District, Shenyang City.

 After Pan Yumin legally purchased a house with a title certificate from the Shaling Credit Cooperative, it was used as a meat processing plant business premises and workshop. 

In the case that Pan Yumin provided the People’s Court with evidence such as the "House Photo" and the deed tax certificate, the 1,100-square-meter house involved in the case had no real estate file, but it was a historical issue. 

There was no compensation based on the licensed house and business house. improper.

 After field visits and price inquiry, the original court of trial determined the compensation unit price based on 80% of the lowest average transaction price of the surrounding commercial houses for sale when the houses involved were demolished in 2011, which was not inappropriate. 

Therefore, the Hong District Government’s claim that the house with title certificate should be unlicensed due to the lack of real estate files, and that the unit price of house compensation determined by the original trial court has no factual and legal basis is not supported.

 

Secondly, the court of second instance determined that the "Certificate" issued by the Shaling Sub-district Office confirmed that the non-proprietary house involved in the case was built in 1976. It was originally an office building for the township people's government and was also legally purchased by Pan Yumin from the Shaling Credit Cooperative. 

The housing title certificate has its historical reasons. If the Hong District Government has not submitted sufficient evidence to prove that it is an illegal building, it should not be considered an illegal building. 

The court of second instance, after comprehensively considering the historical reasons for the failure to register the property rights, the value of the land, the use of the house, and the lowest average transaction price of the surrounding commercial houses when the houses involved were demolished in 2011, determined the compensation unit price of 2,750 yuan per square meter and Nothing wrong.

 Therefore, the Hong District Government’s claim that the non-proprietary houses involved in the case should not be compensated for illegal constructions is not supported.

 

Finally, the land involved in the case belongs to collective construction land, which Pan Yumin legally purchased from Shaling Credit Cooperative in 1995, has obtained a collective land use certificate according to law, and enjoys the right to possess, use, and obtain income. 

Accordingly, the court of second instance found that Pan Yumin had the right to obtain compensation for the land involved in the case. According to the relevant land price guarantee standards of Shenyang City, Liaoning Province, the court of second instance considered that the land value under the item already included in the compensation for houses with title certificates and non-ownership houses should deduct the corresponding area, and finally determined that the area of ​​the land involved in the case should be 2,795.29 square meters. 

The compensation standard is 480 yuan per square meter. Therefore, the Hong District Government’s claim of the court of second instance that the payment of land compensation to Pan Yumin was an error in the application of law is not supported.

 

In summary, the retrial application of the Yuhong District Government does not comply with the circumstances stipulated in Article 91 of the Administrative Procedure Law of the People’s Republic of China.

 In accordance with the "Interpretation of the Supreme People's Court on the Application of the "Administrative Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China"" Article 116, paragraph 2, the ruling is as follows:

 

The retrial application of the People's Government of Yuhong District, Shenyang City, Liaoning Province, was rejected.

 

Presiding judge 　　 Liang Fengyun

 

Judge 　　 Zhang 　yan

 

Judge 　　 Zhang 　 Sword

 

June 18, 2020

 

Assistant Judge Tao Zou

 

 

 

U.S. Election System Law and Constitution

When the United States was first established two hundred years ago, the founders of the United States designed the electoral system. The main purpose at that time was to prevent politicians from making false promises to voters to defraud the votes, and the "electors" indirectly elect the president to avoid malpractices. But today this meaning has disappeared. This system is mainly to respect the rights of the states. It is a manifestation of American democracy's decentralization and respect for local state rights.

How many total number of electoral votes are there in the United States?

The total number of "electoral votes" in the United States is 538, which is the total number of Senators (100), House of Representatives (435), and Washington DC representatives (3). 

What is the distribution of American Senators State wise?

Senators are distributed by state, with 2 in each of the 50 states. Members of the House of Representatives are selected by population, and one is elected by more than 500,000 people.

 For example, New York State has a population of more than 16 million, with 31 members of the House of Representatives, plus 2 senators, for a total of 33 electoral votes.

What is winner takes all?

Except for Maine and Nebraska, if any presidential candidate wins the majority vote of the state, it wins all the electoral votes of the state, which is called "winner takes all". 

Who is elected as POTUS according to the Electoral College System?

According to the Electoral College system, a candidate who has won more than half of the 538 electoral votes (270 votes) in each state is elected president.

Since the winner-takes-all calculation method is adopted, it is possible that a candidate won the national popular vote calculated by head, but loses the general election because the electoral votes are less than half.

 For example, in the 2000 general election, the Democratic candidate Gore had 500,000 more votes than the Republican candidate Bush in the national polls. 

However, because Bush finally won several hundred votes in the Florida State of Gore, the winner is the winner. 

According to the principle, Bush won all 25 electoral votes in the state, thus making him more than half of the electoral votes in the country and he was elected president.

The Asian name of the American electoral system is American democracy, decentralization, respect for local state power, and the qualifications of voters who are 18 years of age. 

The original purpose is to prevent politicians from making false promises to voters to defraud their votes.

Table of Contents

1 Introduction to the election

▪ Voter qualification

▪ Candidacy

▪ Production method

▪ Senate election

▪ House election

▪ Election management

▪ Type of election

▪ Member composition

▪ Re-election

▪ Election time

2 Electoral system

▪ Presidential election

▪ Vice President

▪ Pre-selection stage

▪ The meaning of the election

Introduction to the election

What is Voter qualification in the USA?

All U.S. citizens who have reached the age of 18 have the right to vote. All states except North Dakota require that voters must register in advance before they can vote.

What is the Candidacy requisites for contesting the US Presidential elections?

The constitution stipulates that anyone who has reached the age of 25 and has been a US citizen for 7 years can run for Congress. Anyone who has reached the age of 30 and has been a US citizen for 9 years can run for the Senate.

 But candidates must live in the electoral district when they stand for election (so the former first lady of the United States, Hillary Clinton, temporarily moved to New York State to run for the New York State Senate).

What is the method of generating candidates for the American Presidential election?

There are many ways to generate candidates, such as recommendation by party organizations, naming by politically powerful figures, and selection by interest groups, but in most cases they simply recommend themselves.

If a candidate belongs to a certain party, he must defeat other opponents in the party in the primaries of a certain party to win the party's nomination. 

In some congressional districts where one party is overwhelmingly dominant, winning the party's nomination almost wins the election.

General candidates are nominated by the party through preliminary elections. More than a century has passed since the formation of the pre-selection system. 

The United States formed a system of nominating candidates by party congresses in the 1830s. Since then, most congressmen have been nominated by secret meetings within the party. This system makes the candidates for congressmen often controlled by the party leader.

 In 1867, Crawford County, Pennsylvania, first adopted the method of direct pre-selection to nominate candidates for local public office, that is, voters from both parties directly vote to determine the candidates nominated by the party. 

At the beginning of the 20th century, the direct pre-selection system was promoted. By 1917, 44 of the 48 states in the country had implemented some form of direct pre-selection system. 

Now, all 50 states in the United States use direct pre-selection to nominate party candidates.

Elections for US President

What is American Senate election?

Senators of Congress are directly elected by the states. Each state elects 2 senators, a total of 100 people, for a term of 6 years, and one third of them are elected every two years. 

The specific method is to divide the senators into three groups and one group for two years. Re-elected later, group 1 re-elected after 4 years, group 1 re-elected after 6 years. 

The basic principle of distribution is to ensure that two members of a state do not expire in the same year. If a senator dies or resigns during his term of office, the governor shall organize a by-election. 

Unless the state legislature authorizes the governor to appoint a senator’s successor, the successor can remain in office until the next general election, but the general election candidates only run for their predecessors.

 For the remaining term, if a senator has a term of 6 years and dies in the third year, the successor will participate in the general election after one year, and the elected will only have a term of 2 years. 

Now 49 of the 50 states authorize the governor to designate a senator’s successor, with the exception of Oregon, which must be elected through a by-election.

Before 1866, the United States did not have a unified system for the election of federal senators. Each state has its own way. 

About half of the states use bicameral voting, that is, the two houses of the state legislature elect separately, until the two houses elect the same person as the federal Senator.

What is the disadvantage of senator system?

 The disadvantage of this system is that the two houses are often deadlocked, so that a few months after the Congress, some state seats in the Senate are still vacant. 

The other half of the states use the "joint voting system", that is, members of both houses of the state legislature vote together, and the one who receives the majority of votes is elected. 

The state’s independent electoral system has brought a lot of confusion to congressional elections. 

In July 1866, the Senate Judiciary Committee submitted a report to the whole house, recommending that Congress pass laws to unify the senator election system. The two houses of Congress quickly passed the relevant bill.

What is the new senator election method?

The two houses of the state legislature vote separately, and the senators are elected by oral voting. The next day, the two houses shall hold a joint meeting to count the voting results of the two houses. If the two houses each elect the same person with a majority of votes, the federal senator shall declare the person elected immediately.

If no one obtains more than half of the two houses at the same time, the two houses of the state legislature shall hold a joint ballot at least once a day at 12 noon during the same session until the federal senator is elected. Congressman.

This method of electing federal senators through indirect elections continued until 1913. 

In 1913, two-thirds of the states approved the 17th Amendment to the Constitution, stipulating that the senators of the United States shall be elected by the people of each state, that is, pre-elected by the voters of the state before the election of the senators by the state assembly. 

The pre-selection results are stamped with the official seal.

Currently, there are 48 states in the United States that only require a single vote in the election of senators, and a simple majority can be elected, with the exception of Georgia and Louisiana.

Voting in the Senate election is not mandatory.

What is House Election in USA?

The U.S. Constitution stipulates the principle of election of members of the House of Representatives as follows: Members of Congress shall be elected according to the proportion of the population of each state, and the ratio of members to the population shall not exceed 1: 30,000 (that is, each member of the House of Representatives must represent at least 30,000 voters), but Each state should have at least one member of the House of Representatives.

 The U.S. Census is conducted every 10 years, and seats in the House of Representatives are redistributed based on the results of the census. 

According to this ratio, the current number of members of the US Congress will be as high as 7,000. The current number of 435 members is based on the results of the 13th census in 1910. 

In the 87th Congress, Alaska and Hawaii were given a place each, so that the House of Representatives has 437 members. However, it is generally believed that the legislature with 650 members like the House of Commons in the United Kingdom is too large and too heavy to increase.

 The number of members of the House of Representatives, so in 1929 Congress fixed the total number of members of the House of Representatives at 435, and the number will no longer increase with the population.

What is the principle of try to make every member of the assembly equal to the number of voters represented by other members?

The U.S. Constitution stipulates that the number of voters represented by the House of Representatives shall not be less than 30,000, but in practice it has been found that this provision is too wide. 

It is inconsistent with the principle of "try to make every member of the assembly equal to the number of voters represented by other members" established by the Supreme Court. 

Therefore, the Supreme Court passed a case ruling that when dividing electoral districts, the difference in the proportion of the population of each electoral district should not exceed 3.1%.

In 1967, the United States passed a law to abolish all states-based elections of members of the House of Representatives. That is, if a state is allocated 3 places, the state must divide 3 electoral districts in the state, and each electoral district elects one member. It is not allowed for voters across the state to vote for 3 members, unless of course there is only one place in the state. 

In the current House of Representatives seat allocation, California has the largest number of seats, with 52 seats.

 New York State is next with 29 seats; Alaska and other 7 states have 1 seat each; only 14 states have more than 10 seats.

In addition to members elected by the states in the House of Representatives, there are Resident Commissioners from Puerto Rico, and delegates from the District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. These representatives are sent to the House of Representatives. They enjoy the power of most members of the House, but they cannot vote.

What is the Election Management procedure in the Unites States?

The Federal Election Law stipulates that the Federal Election Commission shall manage election affairs. 

The Federal Election Commission is composed of 6 people, who are nominated by the President and approved by the Senate. 

The Federal Election Commission specifically enforces the Federal Electoral Management Act and prosecutes violations.

What is the Federal Election Law regarding donation to a candidate?

According to the Federal Election Law, in the same year, no individual can contribute more than US$1,000 to the same candidate, no more than US$25,000 to all candidates, and no more than US$5,000 to the same political action committee.

The National Committee’s donation must not exceed US$20,000. Any political action committee must not contribute more than US$5,000 to the same candidate within a year, and the national committee of the same political party cannot contribute more than US$15,000. 

The Democratic and Republican election committees of the Senate must not contribute more than US$17,500 to the same candidate. 

Although the law strictly controls campaign funding, there are still big loopholes in practice. Donors often donate soft money to evade legal constraints (US law does not limit the amount of money that voters can donate to support a certain policy. But in fact, a policy is likely to be a certain candidate Advocate, so donating money to support a policy is no different from supporting the candidate).

Each candidate must report the donations and campaign expenses received to the Federal Election Commission 10 days before the election or 30 days after the election, including the names, correspondence offices, and occupations of all donors who donated more than $100.

What is the type of election in the USA?

The election is divided into general election year elections, mid-term elections and by-elections. General election year elections are the four-year presidential election year congressional elections. At that time, presidential elections and congressional elections will be held at the same time. Mid-term elections refer to congressional elections held in the second year between two general election years.

 Election held when a vacancy is formed when a member of the council resigns, dies, or is expelled from the House of Representatives before the expiry of his term is a by-vacancy election.

What is the Member Composition in the US Senate?

Among the 100 seats in the current Senate, the Republicans hold 55 seats and the Democrats hold 45 seats. With 435 seats in the House of Representatives, the Republican Party has 223 seats, the Democratic Party has 211 seats, and the independent candidate has 1 seat.

There are 9 female members in the Senate, 58 female members in the House of Representatives, and 40 black members.

The vast majority of members of Congress are male, white, well-educated, middle-aged, middle- or upper-middle-income families.

In terms of occupation, the number of lawyers is the largest, accounting for more than 40% in the House of Representatives and more than 60% in the Senate. Entrepreneurs and bankers are second. 

There are very few representatives from trade unions or blue collars.

What is law regarding re-election of the US President?

The United States imposes a limit of two consecutive terms for the president’s appointment, but does not impose any restrictions on the term of office of congressmen. 

In fact, the re-election rate of U.S. congressmen is quite high. 92% of the re-elected members of the House of Representatives were re-elected, and the Senate also had 75%.

 In an ordinary general election, members of the House of Representatives with 50 to 70 seats can be re-elected without any campaign effort.

The main reasons why incumbents can be re-elected more easily are as follows: 

1. There are more resources available than opponents. You can make speeches on TV, radio, and rallies to let voters know and be familiar with (voters tend to vote for people who they know better when voting). 

You can also send letters to voters through assistants to strengthen contact and let voters Remember, you can even use your position to benefit the electorate and make voters grateful. 

2. Incumbents are more likely to obtain campaign funding than their opponents.

What is the Time of Election in the USA?

Why are Americans not like some countries where general election voting is held on Sunday?

 Because the United States is a multi-ethnic country, many people are not used to working on weekends, and the general election is no exception. 

The Americans set the presidential election day on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November. 

It sounds a bit confusing, but that's how they stipulate it. So, why not choose Monday? 

This is because when this date was determined in 1845, the United States was still an agricultural country.

 It was difficult for some people to get to the polling place that day, and it was impossible for people to leave on Sunday, so a day was reserved for everyone.

Electoral system

President election

According to the provisions of the U.S. Constitution, the U.S. implements a presidential system and the executive power belongs to the president. The powers of the head of state and government are concentrated in the president.

 The President concurrently serves as commander-in-chief of the armed forces. The President is not responsible to Congress. The president is elected by a general election held every four years, with a term of four years and a re-election period.

The process of the US presidential election is long and complicated. It mainly includes preliminary elections, presidential nomination, election campaigns, national elections, electoral college voting, and the inauguration ceremony of the elected president.

The pre-selection phase usually kicks off in New Hampshire on the third Tuesday of February of the general election year and ends in June. 

After that, the two major political parties of the United States, the Democratic Party and the Republican Party, will respectively elect representatives to participate in their party's national conventions in most of the states.

 In a few states that do not hold pre-elections, the bipartisan state committees or congresses select representatives. 

Because New Hampshire took the lead in conducting the preliminary elections, the results of the election have had a great impact on other states.

The national conventions of the two major political parties in the United States are usually held in July and August. 

At that time, the representatives of the states participating in the Congress will vote for the party's presidential candidate, and then pass the vice presidential candidate nominated by the presidential candidate, and formally elect the campaign platform. 

Conferences are often several days long, with hundreds of votes cast.

After the congress, the elected presidential candidates began to campaign for votes across the country for several months, including campaign trips to various states, extensive meetings with voters, television speeches, and television debates. 

The presidential candidate has spent huge sums of money on the campaign and used all kinds of tricks.

The US law stipulates that in national elections, voters must go to a designated place to vote on the second Tuesday of November in the general election year and choose between two presidential candidates. 

National elections must also be voted by the electoral college. Since the presidential candidate who gets the most votes in a state wins all the electoral votes in that state, elections are generally routine.

Vice-president of USA

In American politics, the vice president does not hold actual work. His official business is to serve as the chairman of the Senate of Congress. But this is mainly ceremonial, because he only votes when the Senate votes are equal. 

The day-to-day work of the vice president is usually determined by the president's request, and is generally insignificant, such as representing the president in the funeral of foreign leaders.

According to the U.S. Constitution, if the president dies or loses his ability to work, the vice president takes over the presidency. 

Being the vice president first is one of the ways to become the president of the United States. Since the Second World War, three vice presidents have taken over the presidency during the presidency. 

Truman died because of Roosevelt, Johnson was assassinated because of Kennedy, and Ford succeeded as president because of Nixon's resignation. 

In addition, several vice presidents have also served as presidential candidates, including Nixon, Humphrey, Mundell and Bush.

 The Vice President of the United States is not directly elected by the American public, but is selected by the presidential candidates of the Democratic and Republican parties and elected by the bipartisan National Convention. 

When a presidential candidate chooses a vice presidential candidate, he must first consider the person's political qualifications and conditions. But it mainly depends on which part of the party he represents in order to strike a balance and try to win the support of the largest majority of voters.

But the election result does not depend on the presidential candidate's choice of the vice president, but on the presidential candidate. During the 1988 U.S. election, many Americans believed that the Republican presidential candidate Bush’s running partner Quill was too young, unskilled, and unworthy of consideration, and considered the Democratic presidential candidate Dukakis’s running partner Bentson to be experienced and profound.

 Fu Zhongwang. But as a result of the general election, Bush won and became president, and Quill naturally became vice president.

The vice presidential candidate is usually a member of Congress, but a senator has a higher chance of being selected as the vice presidential candidate. 

The reason is that once a senator is elected as the vice president, he will serve as the chairman of the Senate, which can strengthen the relationship between the president and the Senate.

What is the Pre-selection stage in the US Elections?

The primaries are the primary elections and are the first stage of the US presidential election. 

The pre-selection period is usually from February to June. In this stage, representatives are mainly elected to participate in the national congress of various parties, and the presidential candidates of each party are finally selected at the national congress of the party.

At present, most states in the United States implement direct pre-elections, through which voters directly elect representatives to participate in the party’s national congress, and voters can also directly express their views on presidential candidates. 

Since the representatives of the National Congress clearly expressed their support for the presidential candidate, the voting results can clearly know the support rate of the presidential candidates. 

This kind of pre-election was held in New Hampshire on February 1st this year.

What is Cadre Meeting or Grass Meeting?

Another form of pre-election is called a "cadre meeting" (or "grass meeting"), where the two parties hold the party's grassroots meeting at each election site in a state. 

The voters who support their party will express their support for who will be the president of the party Candidates and elected representatives to attend county-level representative meetings.

 Then, the county congress elects representatives to the state congress, and the state congress elects representatives to the national congress, and the national congress decides the party’s presidential candidate. 

This is the pre-selection held in Iowa on January 24. Iowa was the first state in the country to hold a party congress, and New Hampshire was the first state to hold direct preliminary elections. The pre-elections of the two states play the role of "weather vane" and "barometer". 

The results of the election will affect the pre-elections of other states in the future. Therefore, it is crucial to the success or failure of candidates.

The pre-election activities in each state, whether in the form of a pre-election or a pre-election meeting, generally only allow voters who clearly indicate that they are Democrats or Republicans to participate. 

The voters who are not clear about their party positions cannot participate. Even the former part of voters actually only participated in a small part.

What are the different concepts of the US Election?

U.S. elections often involve the 3 different concepts of "term", "ren" and "position" of the US president.

Regarding the "term", the U.S. Constitution stipulates that the presidential election shall be held once every four years, and the president shall be elected once every four years. 

If the president fails to complete his term for some reason, another person will take over, and the two presidents will be the same president.

Regarding "ren", it refers to the number of times the president has been held. One person holds the post of president for several consecutive terms and remains one term. 

However, a person has been elected several times in discrete presidential elections, and several elections count as several terms.

Regarding "position", it refers to the actual number of people who have served as president. 

Since the beginning of the election of the President of the United States, no matter whether it is re-election or several successive elections, without double counting, several people count as several.

Based on this calculation, Bill Clinton is the 52nd, 42nd, and 41st President of the United States.