Hong Kong government needs to get tough with rogue pro-Beijing lawmakers and activists, too

The Leung Chun-ying era has ended, and Zhang Xiaoming, director of the central government’s liaison office, is to be transferred back to Beijing to take up a more significant role, as director of the State Council’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office. However, the leaving of two leaders known for their hardline views has not brought peace to Hong Kong; the political turmoil continues.

The latest drama involved pro-Beijing lawmaker Junius Ho Kwan-yiu. Backed by the liaison office and rural leader Tsang Shu-wo, Ho launched an online petition and organised a rally to pressure the University of Hong Kong to sack Benny Tai Yiu-ting, its associate professor of law and co-organiser of the Occupy Central protests.

At the rally at Tamar Park last Sunday, which police said was attended by some 2,000 people at its peak (organisers claimed 4,000 turned up), Ho and Tsang led a Cultural Revolution-style public denunciation of Tai and the pro-independence camp. Tsang told the crowd that pro-independence activists should be “killed”, and Ho responded by leading a chant of “no mercy”.

Their actions have angered many people, but Ho has refused to apologise, arguing that the word the participants used at the rally was not “kill” but in fact “halt” (the two words are homonyms).

Twenty-two pan-democratic lawmakers have jointly released a statement condemning Ho’s speech, saying it advocated violence and breaking the law. They said Ho’s action went beyond freedom of speech, and have pledged to pursue the matter at Legislative Council meetings.