Independence party founders are both clowns and criminals – and their poison is spreading
A ‘Republic of Hong Kong’ is unrealistic, yet a way must be found to channel the idealism of young people into fighting for more viable political goals
It’s just a matter of time. A new extreme localist group has been formed, calling itself the Hong Kong National Party. It repudiates the Basic Law, the city’s mini-constitution, seeks to establish independence for “the Republic of Hong Kong” and will use any means, including inciting violence, to achieve its goal.
Co-founder and former Occupy Central activist Chan Ho-tin said his party would use “whatever effective means” available to push for independence, including fielding candidates in the Legislative Council elections in September and coordinating with other pro-independence localist groups.
“Staging marches or shouting slogans is obviously useless now. Regarding violence, we would support it if it is effective to make us heard,” Chan said.
I am no lawyer but it all sounds illegal. If you don’t recognise our constitution, how can you become a lawmaker? If you advocate violence, any number of local laws including the public order ordinance and the crimes ordinance will suffice to define a criminal offence.
But the question is, how should reasonable people respond to localist groups like this? Should they be treated like clowns or criminals?