Members of the pro-democracy camp have formed their own 'united front' in response to Beijing's decision to limit the scope of Hong Kong's political reforms. The tactics are simple - keep fighting for universal suffrage in 2007, particularly through trying to repeat last year's big march on July 1. As expected, the forces will gather, banners will be waved and slogans chanted. As September's Legislative Council elections loom, the strategy is understandable. But this alone will not provide Hong Kong with the solution our city requires.
Opening up new avenues for communication with the central government is also needed. The question is: who, if anyone, among the ranks of the democrats is prepared to take up the cause?
The pro-democracy camp has little political choice in the short term than to stick to its all-or-nothing approach to reform. To do otherwise would be to convey a message of defeat - and this would hardly be a vote-winner come September. The adoption of a defiant stance is in keeping with the democrats' traditions. It is also fundamental to their success in the polls.
However, there is a growing realisation among many democrats that a different dynamic is needed - one for the longer term. It involves striving to develop a new relationship with Beijing - one that is based upon mutual trust and respect. As legislator Margaret Ng Ngoi-yee wrote in this newspaper yesterday: 'What has happened in the past few months has exposed a cultural gap between Hong Kong and the mainland which must be narrowed for trust to be built.'
Bridges can be built only by working hard to open up new channels of communication. Tentative steps have already been taken. The first sign of a warming in relations came last month when three democrats were allowed to take part in the first formal dialogue with Beijing since 1989. Several other meetings have since taken place. Democrats were invited to a forum attended by mainland officials. A few were also entertained in Shenzhen.
It might be argued that, in the end, this achieved little. The central government still ruled out universal suffrage for 2007. However, this process is in its infancy and the real background to Beijing's decision was the absence of any Hong Kong interest in dialogue in the months after July 1.
