Hong Kong pro-establishment lawmakers get tea and sympathy from Beijing's top man after botched walkout

Beijing’s top representative in Hong Kong last night hailed pro-establishment lawmakers’ support for the electoral reform package and did not take them to task for the botched walkout before the vote last week.

The news emerged from a “tea gathering” for 40 Beijing loyalists that also saw an unusually warm reception for the media pack. Journalists were allowed into the building in Western district in an unprecedented move, as mainland officials also offered a surprise olive branch to the pan-democrats.

Veteran Beijing loyalist Tam Yiu-chung of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong quoted office director Zhang Xiaoming as saying the central government would invite lawmakers to attend a military parade commemorating the 70th anniversary of the end of the second world war.

The parade is scheduled for September 3 in the capital.

“The central government will also invite representatives from different sectors in Hong Kong, including lawmakers, to inspect the development opportunities arising from the country’s ‘One Belt, One Road’ strategic initiative,” Tam said.

This offer was seen as an effort to reach out to the pan-democrats after they voted against the Beijing-decreed blueprint for Hong Kong’s 2017 chief executive election.