My Take | There goes the power to filibuster, and it’s all the pan-dems’ own fault
The disqualification of six opposition lawmakers gives the establishment camp a golden chance to change the voting rules in the Legislative Council, depriving the pan-dems of one of their weapons of choice
Among opposition supporters, it’s a widespread belief that the government launched lawsuits to disqualify six of their lawmakers – for failing to swear their oaths of office properly – to steal their elected majority in the Legislative Council.
In other words, the nefarious scheme of the previous administration of Leung Chun-ying was to achieve a super-majority – in both the geographical and functional constituencies – for its Legco friends. Let us remember, though, that the pan-dems have always been in the minority within the functional section, which represents social, professional, industrial and religious groupings.
There is no doubt that the central and Hong Kong governments, and their allies in Legco, would love to have a rubber-stamp legislature for the next four years. But realistically, that’s not possible, unless you ban by-elections as well. That, alas, is not an option, even for Beijing.