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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

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Joshua Wong Chi-fung (second left) and Agnes Chow Ting (third left) attends the Eastern District Council meeting at Sai Wan Ho. 30JAN18 SCMP / Felix Wong
Alex Loin Toronto

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.

It’s now clear that Agnes Chow Ting, who has been disqualified from running in the Legislative Council by-election in March, and her localist party Demosisto, are committed to separatism, and violating the Basic Law and the Sino-British Joint Declaration, on which the “one country, two systems” governing principle is based.

 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”. 

Demosisto co-founder Joshua Wong Chi-fung claimed the changes were minor and were made to help laypeople understand the party’s stance better. So, did Chow, Wong and Co have a change of heart and decide to moderate their stance? Hardly. These people are the ones who cross their arms and stand with their backs to the national and Hong Kong flags at formal occasions such as the annual July 1 handover celebrations, when the national anthem is played.
The changes to their party constitution are naked opportunism. But is disqualifying Chow justified? Well, her party is committed to challenging the very foundations on which Hong Kong’s political order is based. It’s not unusual to ban such parties, even in democracies. 
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