Opinion | Why Hong Kong democrats should look to Macau’s opposition lawmakers for inspiration

The opposition bloc hoped to secure 35 seats in the legislature, giving it the power to block government bills, but the national security law has scuppered this obstructionist agenda

Pan-democrats should look to go back to reasonable debate and striving to achieve a consensus

Reading Time:3 minutes

Pro-democracy lawmaker Eddie Chu (right) climbs a wall during the Legislative Council House Committee meeting on May 8 as pan-democrat lawmakers scuffle with their pro-establishment counterparts over lawmaker Starry Lee Wai-king presiding over the committee meeting. Photo: Dickson Lee

Published: 6:30am, 6 Jul 2020Updated: 6:48am, 6 Jul 2020

Primaries for pan-democratic candidates running in the city’s upcoming September Legislative Council election are to be held over the coming weekend.

They are part of the “35-plus” campaign that co-founder of the 2014 Occupy protests Benny Tai Yiu-ting hatched for pan-democrats to win a majority in the legislature and become, in Tai’s words, a “massive constitutional weapon” to veto the budget and disrupt the government.

The plan is (was?) to ride on the electoral momentum of the district council elections last year – in which the pan-democrats won 85 per cent of the seats, putting them in charge of 17 of the 18 local councils – and to turn all of the frustration that had been played out on Hong Kong’s streets since June last year into seats in the legislature.

Tai’s plan is for this pan-democratic majority to control the legislature’s agenda and the power to block government bills. The “massive constitutional weapon” that Tai referred to is Article 52 (3) of the Basic Law, which gives the chief executive the power to dissolve Legco if it does not pass the budget or “any other important bill”, but also stipulates that the chief executive must resign if the new Legco also does not pass the original bill.

Of course, it would take more than just a simple majority, but Tai understands – perhaps better than any one else – that the prospect of creating that sort of disruption to the normal business of the government is enough to get reactions from not only the populace, but also the government and Beijing.

But that was before the national security law, which has been tailor-made to address exactly the brand of obstructionist politics Tai has recommended. Now, at least one former lawmaker who had pledged to stand for election, despite the distinct risk of being disqualified as a candidate, has skipped town.

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