Tearful Ronny Tong quits as legislator hours after resigning from Civic Party amid rift in Hong Kong's pan-democratic camp
Moderate lawmaker vows to continue pursuing a ‘middle way’ to democracy and laments Civic Party’s drift away from its founding principles
Moderate pan-democrat Ronny Tong Ka-wah sent shockwaves across Hong Kong's political spectrum yesterday, giving up his directly elected seat in the Legislative Council as well as quitting the party he co-founded nine years ago.
The lawmaker's departure from the Civic Party had long been expected because of his more compromising approach to political reform, but his decision to quit Legco came as a shock, exposing how wide the rift within the city's pan-democratic camp has become.
Yesterday's drama came less than a week after Legco voted down the government's final package of proposals for the 2017 chief executive election.
Tong lamented his allies' failure to come up with a feasible proposal to lobby Beijing, and said it was inappropriate for him to retain his seat in the legislature considering he was elected as a Civic Party member in 2012.
Tong sobbed as he bowed in front of the cameras to announce his resignation from Legco, effective on October 1. "I wish to thank everyone who has supported me over the past 11 years," he said. "I apologise for not being able to achieve what I set out to achieve."