Beijing could suppress pan-democrats if electoral reform rejected, says Civic Party's Ronny Tong
Civic Party lawmaker Ronny Tong Ka-wah said on Monday that Beijing could politically “kill at will and suppress” even the moderate pan-democrats if the government’s electoral reform package was rejected in the legislature.
It is possible for Beijing to politically "kill at will and suppress" even moderate pan-democrats if the legislature rejects the government's electoral reform package for the 2017 chief executive poll, Civic Party lawmaker Ronny Tong Ka-wah has warned.
Tong, whose party is part of the pan-democratic camp, also argued that public opinion polls were not really helpful in furthering progress on reform.
"In the end, the central government still needs to sit down and talk to the pandemocrats, but I must also ask: if the package is rejected, would … Beijing give up on 'two systems'?" Tong said on DBC radio yesterday.
He was referring to the "one country, two systems" principle that governs Beijing's policy towards Hong Kong.
Tong, also a senior counsel, took part in the Bar Association's biennial visit to Beijing last week. He said that during an April 29 meeting, Beijing's Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office chief Wang Guangya told him "one country, two systems" would continue.
"But I wondered whether the atmosphere would be conducive for it, and whether he really represents Beijing's current and future stance," Tong said. "Through many different channels, many people - including middlemen - have also told me that after the veto, [Beijing will] be 'killing at will', whether you are moderate" or on the more extreme wing of the pan-democratic camp.
In another meeting, he said, Basic Law Committee chairman Li Fei and his deputy Zhang Rongshun complained about a lack of mutual trust between Beijing and pan-democrats. Tong quoted Li as saying: "When I said something in Beijing, [Civic Party leader Alan] Leong Kah-kit would criticise me for three days.
"But when some Hongkongers talked about Hong Kong independence, Leong said nothing. With such an attitude, how could there be dialogue?"
He feared Beijing officials in charge of Hong Kong affairs would only get tougher.
Meanwhile, Rita Fan Hsu Lai-tai, a member of the National People's Congress Standing Committee, told a 200-strong audience at a forum that pan-democrats should "give Hong Kong a chance" and endorse the government's reform package.
