My Take | Hong Kong not unique in barring some from running in elections
Even Western democracies such as Spain and Germany have banned – or at least tried to ban – parties and individuals who threaten the integrity of the political and social order
Hong Kong may have barred some secessionists from running in polls to be lawmakers, but we are nowhere close, as claimed by some, to banning their parties.
Their claim that they only wanted self-determination was a subterfuge to get Chow qualified for the poll.
In its original party constitution, Demosisto not only called for “democratic self-determination”, but opposed Chinese communist rule and supported a referendum to push for the city’s autonomy.
The revised version has dropped the references to anti-communism and autonomy, retaining only the phrase “democratic self-determination”.