Stop pursuing democracy under Hong Kong’s Basic Law, Occupy co-founder Benny Tai urges
He was speaking at seminar with other pan-democratic leaders to brainstorm ways to tackle what they claimed would be a period of suppression in future
At the same seminar on Saturday, localist leader Edward Leung Tin-kei also highlighted fears that the opposition camp would pay a bigger price now after Beijing took on a hardline stance against the movement.
In a rare show of solidarity, the two and other democracy leaders of varying ideologies came together at the event to brainstorm ways to defend against what they claimed would be a period of all-out suppression in the future.
Other familiar faces included student activists Joshua Wong Chi-fung, Alex Chow Yong-Kang and Billy Fung Jing-en, as well as recently disqualified lawmaker “Long Hair” Leung Kwok-hung.
Their joint appearance could be seen as a sign of the pan-democratic camp mending its internal rift, which stemmed from their differences in approach – ranging from moderate to radical – in pursuing democracy.
Edward Leung, the Hong Kong Indigenous leader who once called for the city to break away from Chinese rule to achieve independence, now urged fellow activists to set aside their differences.