Not all leftists are keen to see the government's political reform package passed, despite the highly publicised petition they have organised in support of it.
Many are privately hoping the proposal, which they see as favourable to the democrats, will be voted down.
A leader of one pro-Beijing organisation said quite a number of those in the leftist camp were viewing the administration's woes over the reforms with indifference.
'To put it more vividly, many people in our camp are watching a fire from the other side of the river,' the leader said.
'Many would actually prefer the existing electoral arrangements to remain intact.'
Leading pro-Beijing groups, including the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong, and the Federation of Trade Unions (FTU), did not try to mobilise public support for the package until 10 days before it was scheduled to be tabled in the Legislative Council.
They and their allies launched a signature campaign in support of the government blueprint on December 11, saying they hoped to collect about 500,000 signatures.
