Letters | With Hong Kong’s national security law on the way, here’s what its pro-democracy camp must do

For better or worse, the predictions in my January 27 letter (“Bombs and guns are a dead end for democracy, focus on the power of the vote”) turned out to be correct. China’s central government will enact a national security law tailor-made for Hong Kong in response to demonstrations and protests that temporarily subsided during the Covid-19 outbreak.

The Hong Kong government sees the law as a long-lasting means to strengthen the “one country, two systems” model enshrined in the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration. As expected, the pro-democracy camp thinks otherwise, thus raising the question: what’s next for the pro-democracy camp?

I have a few suggestions. First, focus on winning 36 of the 70 seats in the upcoming Legislative Council election, thereby gaining a majority to control the legislative agenda on the details of the implementation of the security law.

Many countries, including the United States, have similar laws that disallow overthrowing the federal government. So long as an individual’s constitutional freedoms and right to due process are protected by an independent judicial system, the national security law does not spell “one country, one system” for Hong Kong.

Second, the pro-democracy camp must field candidates that are skilful politicians who can propose sensible bills, vote constructively to pass such bills, and lead Hong Kong out of its current quagmire. The legislative impasse created by procedural filibustering does not exemplify effective political leadership.

Third, learn from Sun Tzu’s  Art of War . The pro-democracy camp has lost hard-won legislative seats due to the childish antics of some legislators during the swearing-in process. The pro-establishment camp welcomes such antics as they clearly demonstrate the opposition’s inexperience and immaturity.