Agnes Chow’s by-election disqualification robs us all of a debate on Hong Kong’s future
Mike Rowse says the decision to bar Agnes Chow from participating in the Legislative Council by-election has deprived the community of a debate on Hong Kong’s future after Article 5 of the Basic Law lapses in 2047
It may seem fanciful, but a case can be made that the real victim of the decision to ban Agnes Chow Ting from standing in the upcoming Legislative Council by-election will turn out to be President Xi Jinping. And when he discovers what those in the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, the liaison office and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government have done to his reputation, heads may roll.
But let me start with Demosisto and its personalities. I have met Nathan Law Kwun-chung and he struck me as a thoroughly decent young man. I have not met Chow, but she seems to be cut from the same cloth. They are clearly two of our finest young people, highly principled and passionate about Hong Kong’s future.
Agnes Chow’s fellow Demosisto party member Nathan Law Kwun-chung was disqualified from his seat in the Legislative Council for improperly taking the oath of office. Photo: David Wong
Personalities aside, the real problem with their political party, Demosisto, is that its entire policy platform is founded on two major misunderstandings. The party’s position is that the Basic Law only covers Hong Kong up to 2047. Citizens here should have the right to decide their way of life thereafter through a plebiscite under the heading of self-determination. Though left unsaid, it is clear that one of the options on the table at that time would be independence. This stance sounds reasonable but it is fallacious. As I have pointed out, the Basic Law has no expiry date – it is permanent legislation and stays in force until repealed or amended by the National People’s Congress.
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I just cannot foresee a time when the NPC will repeal or amend Article 1, for example, which states unambiguously that the Hong Kong SAR is an inalienable part of China. While it is true that the promise of no change (to the capitalist system and way of life) in Article 5 lapses after 50 years – hence the reference to 2047 – there is no concomitant commitment to swing immediately to a socialist economy and abandon our legal system or other aspects of our life.
Hong Kong, Taiwan and the 19th Party Congress
Secondly, if there is ever a review – whether before, during or after 2047 – of how Hong Kong should be governed, then the outcome will be a matter for the 1.4 billion people of the whole of China, not just the seven million residents of our city.
