'No market' for talk of Hong Kong independence, Jasper Tsang says
Legco president Jasper Tsang sees no need to criminalise advocating secession and distances himself from party member's proposed law
Hong Kong does not need an anti-independence law at the moment as there is "no market" for separatist discourse, Legislative Council president Jasper Tsang Yok-sing said on Thursday.
And Tsang distanced himself and his party, the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong, from a DAB member's proposal to outlaw calls for secession.
His comments came a day after party member Lawrence Ma Yan-kwok told the media he had submitted a draft anti-secession bill to Beijing and Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying denied newspaper reports the government planned to put forward such legislation this summer.
"Independence theories have circulated in society for some time already … but I don't see there is a market for them," Tsang said yesterday. "As far as I know, Beijing has no intention to make an anti-independence law or legislate for Article 23 now."
Tsang was referring to the article of Hong Kong's Basic Law under which the city is supposed to implement a national security law. As key pan-democrats had come out clearly against independence, such a law was not needed imminently, Tsang said.
Tsang, who chaired the DAB's predecessor, the Democratic Alliance for Betterment of Hong Kong, is now an adviser to the party. He said its leaders had told him Ma did not represent the views of the party.
