'Occupy Central' blockade plan gets Democratic Party's support
A law professor's plan to get people to occupy the streets in Central to pressure Beijing into keeping its promise of universal suffrage for Hong Kong is "worth supporting", the Democratic Party says. The party is the first political group in the pro-democracy camp to formally study Dr Benny Tai Yiu-ting's plan, after about 20 members, including chairwoman Emily Lau Wai-hing and lawmaker Albert Ho Chun-yan, met him last night.
A law professor's plan to get people to occupy the streets in Central to pressure Beijing into keeping its promise of universal suffrage for Hong Kong is "worth supporting", the Democratic Party says.
The party is the first political group in the pro-democracy camp to formally study Dr Benny Tai Yiu-ting's plan, after about 20 members, including chairwoman Emily Lau Wai-hing and lawmaker Albert Ho Chun-yan, met him last night.
Tai, a constitutional laws expert at the University of Hong Kong, wrote about his controversial plan last month, highlighting the need for civil disobedience in the pursuit of democracy.
The plan aims to organise a road blockade of at least 10,000 protesters in July next year. Protesters will sign an oath acknowledging the movement's non-violent nature and agree to surrender to police after the event.
Last night, Lau said those who took part in the discussion felt "very positive" about the plan and would further discuss it. "We appreciate the plan very much because we know that if there is no universal suffrage, we have no option but to protest," she said.
Vice-chairman Law Kin-hei said concerns about the details were raised. "But … it is one of the options we might try," he said.
Meanwhile, lawmaker Frederick Fung Kin-kee of the Association for Democracy and People's Livelihood said they had "no bottom line" as to how to force the government to table a genuine universal suffrage proposal. But the pan-democrats should find a consensus before taking action on Tai's plan, he said.
Business and Professionals Alliance lawmaker Dr Priscilla Leung Mei-fun was against Tai's plan. "I believe the majority of the public would not endorse a plan that aims to break the law."
