It is ironic that the Democratic Party has rejected the plan formulated by the League of Social Democrats for a legislator from each electoral district to resign, triggering by-elections, while the Civic Party has embraced this radical move, which is fraught with danger.
After all, when the Civic Party was first formed, its leaders were seen as highly sophisticated professionals who were politically moderate and who would provide an alternative to the Democratic Party, which had a history of social activism that appealed to the grass roots.
But Hong Kong has seen growing political radicalism in recent years, reflected in the emergence of the league and its loud-mouthed banana-throwing representatives in the Legislative Council.
The Civic Party, by throwing its lot in with the party of 'Long Hair' Leung Kwok-hung, is playing a high-risk game, changing its image and shifting its political base.
Actually, the whole idea of a 'de facto referendum' is questionable. For one thing, will voters see it as a referendum or will they simply vote for the candidate of their choice?
If the election were a referendum, then it would not matter which candidate the league-Civic Party coalition put forward. However, this is clearly not the case.