Beijing holding out olive branch for Hong Kong pan-democrats to develop ‘loyal opposition’, says think tank chief

The central government hopes to turn Hong Kong’s pan-democrats into a “loyal opposition” after the city’s political reform proposal was voted down, the vice-president of a mainland Chinese think tank on Hong Kong said today.

Lau Siu-kai, vice-president of the National Association of Study on Hong Kong and Macau, said Beijing was seeking to improve ties with Hong Kong’s pan-democrats and looking for grounds to cooperate.

He said a loyal opposition was allowed to have opposing views on many issues as long as it upholds some fundamental principles – such as the “one country, two systems” concept and the political structure it lays down, as well as the Communist Party’s rule in the country.

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”They can oppose many other issues. But they basically accept the current political structure. And they operate within the current structure to fight for reform,” Lau said during an RTHK talk show.

One year after Beijing made its August 31 decision on the city’s political reform, Lau, also former head of the Central Policy Unit, said the central government had not changed its stance on hardliners among pan-democrats in the city.

He quoted a speech by the State Council’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office director Wang Guangya before the political reform was voted down in Legco as saying the central government would only take on hardliners but seek cooperation with moderate pan-democrats.

Last Wednesday, Democratic Party chairwoman Emily Lau Wai-hing and four other young leaders met Feng Wei, deputy director of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office.