Five pro-independence localists plan to vie for seats in the September Legislative Council elections as part of their bid to push to rewrite the Basic Law to make Hong Kong “a quasi city state”. They warn of using more radical means to pursue their goals once elected and claim they would resign “in due course” to trigger by-elections that would serve as a de facto referendum on “Hong Kong independence”. Their plan aims to bank on the rising tide of localism after political greenhorn Edward Leung Tin-kei of Hong Kong Indigenous took a handsome 15 per cent of votes in Sunday’s by-election. The Mong Kok incident was the last straw. Hong Kong people have been fed up with Beijing and its puppet government in Hong Kong Alvin Cheng Kam-moon The five are Dr Horace Chin Wan-kan, regarded as the spiritual leader of independence-seeking localism; lawmaker Wong Yuk-man; and militant localists Wong Yeung-tat, Cheng Chung-tai, and Alvin Cheng Kam-moon. “The Mong Kok incident was the last straw. Hong Kong people have been fed up with Beijing and its puppet government in Hong Kong. We believe the time for Hong Kong people to determine their own future has come,” said Alvin Cheng, referring to the riot. Cheng said once elected to the legislature they would form a committee to collect public opinion on how to rewrite the Basic Law to protect Hong Kong people’s interest, before resigning. Chin, a Lingnan University academic, said: “As long as we can rewrite the Basic Law, there is a chance Hong Kong can became a quasi city state.” He referred to Article 5 of the mini-constitution, which states that Hong Kong’s way of life shall remain unchanged for 50 years. “If we can drop the phrase ‘for 50 years’, we shall be shielded from much of Beijing’s interference and become a city state,” Chin said. Wong Yuk-man said the democracy movements of the past 30 years had been too passive. “We should not just sit back and ask Beijing to allow us more democracy or more autonomy. We should fight for them if we want them,” he said, adding that he was a keen advocate of rewriting the Basic Law “by all people”. He moved a motion in the legislature in 2014 calling for the establishment of a constitutional amendments convention to amend the Basic Law and work out a new constitution that would allow Hong Kong the right of initiative and referendum of laws. The motion was voted down.