With the
Democratic Party not fielding any candidates in December’s Legislative Council election, questions have been raised as to whether there is still a future for the city’s oldest pro-democracy group. The absence of the Democratic Party, probably along with the Civic Party and other opposition groups, has also cast doubt over the checks and balances essential to good governance. That the Democrats had received no nominations by the end of an internal two-week period is not surprising. Members either stayed away or failed to secure enough support to come forward in the wake of the higher thresholds separately imposed by Beijing and the party itself.
With Beijing determined to have only “patriots” in the race and that scores of pan-democratic district councillors have already been disqualified under the ongoing oath-taking exercise, there have been suggestions that party members are likely to be screened out by the government anyway. Separately, the party raised the internal bar for members to run amid an ongoing debate over its way forward.
Should no one contest the election with the party’s backing, it will be the first time the
Legco poll is held without the involvement of the Democrats. Earlier, Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor and other pro-Beijing figures
questioned the value of parties that do not run in elections. She would not be drawn on the issue again last Tuesday, but stressed that people with different political views would be welcome to run so long as they were patriots. Hopefully, there will still be opposition figures who can pass the government vetting process. Party leader Lo Kin-hei said the Democrats would remain an important political force. Whether this will be the case remains to be seen. From adapting to the new political order to rebuilding confidence among supporters, there is a lot to do.
Officials have boasted of the speedy approval of laws and funding in the absence of an opposition in the legislature over the past year. That raises questions about whether the establishment camp has been discharging its Legco duties as vigorously as it should. The presence of political opposition and checks and balances are in the interest of effective and good governance and should be preserved.
