My Take | Pan-dems ruin Legco reform for everyone
- Occupy provocateurs are far from being Hong Kong’s saviours and have nothing to show for their opposition to government electoral moves
The “yellow-ribbon”, or anti-government and anti-mainland, media have been portraying those nine practically as Christlike saints and saviours of Hong Kong. They may well believe that. But there is also another, more prosaic, reason to idolise the last of the Occupy protesters on trial: next year’s Legislative Council elections.
Judging from the recent protest fatigue and the inroads pro-government parties have made in direct elections for the various district councils, the opposition needs a big boost in public support if it is to avoid losing more seats in Legco next year.
It’s a no-brainer to portray the latest prosecution as creeping political repression against which voters must turn out en masse next year to fight. The foreign press and ruling class, especially those in Washington, are more than happy to propagate this narrative as a wedge strategy against China.
The irony is that the pan-democrats have no one else to blame but themselves for being put in this predicament. Let’s recall some recent political history.