Agnes Chow disqualification ‘step towards the evisceration’ of Hong Kong’s autonomy

Prominent US democracy scholar slams ruling as outrageous and says it runs contrary to ‘one country, two systems’ principle

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By-election candidate Agnes Chow Ting (left) in Mong Kok responding to questions about her disqualification on Saturday. Photo: Felix Wong

Published: 3:00pm, 29 Jan 2018Updated: 10:41pm, 29 Jan 2018

The disqualification of democracy activist Agnes Chow Ting from running in the Hong Kong legislature’s by-election was “outrageous”, a world-renowned democracy scholar said on Monday, warning the move symbolised “another step towards the evisceration” of the city’s high degree of autonomy from China.

Professor Larry Diamond, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution of Stanford University in the US, also told the Post that the idea of self-determination could be interpreted in many ways and did not necessarily mean national independence – in contrast to how some mainland scholars and Beijing-friendly lawmakers viewed the matter.

At least 2,000 protest banning of pro-democracy activist Agnes Chow from Legco race

Hong Kong election officials triggered a political storm on Saturday when they barred Chow, 21, from standing in the March 11 poll on the grounds that her party, Demosisto, had called for self-determination for the city. They claimed self-determination deviated from “one country, two systems”, the principle that the city can maintain a high degree of autonomy after it returned to Chinese rule in 1997.

The returning officer for the Electoral Affairs Commission, Anne Teng, who oversees election procedures, did not seek clarification from Chow before ruling her nomination invalid.

Larry Diamond says the government is on a slippery slope that ends with the demise of Hong Kong’s limited degree of democracy. Photo: Sam Tsang

“I think the disqualification is outrageous,” Diamond said in an email. “It is another step in the escalating pattern of violation of basic democratic principles, in this case, the freedom to contest for office.”

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