Opposition lawmakers in Hong Kong inclined to serve in Legislative Council for extended term, despite plea to boycott and keep democratic movement alive
- Legislators from Democratic and Civic parties support staying for extra year, but one opposition camp member says this would be ‘self-defeating’
- Lawmaker Eddie Chu urges others not to remain and argues it goes against democratic principles
The pan-democrat legislators met again on Monday to discuss the issue. After their meeting, they issued a joint statement and said the majority were inclined to stay in the legislature.
“The pan-democratic lawmakers will continue to discuss the issue and seek consensus while reserving differences,” the statement added.
Writing on his Facebook page on Sunday night, however, Council Front’s Eddie Chu Hoi-dick said a boycott of the extended term by all pan-democrats could create momentum to sustain the city’s democratic movement and draw the international community’s attention.
But Democratic Party chairman Wu Chi-wai said on Monday that seven lawmakers from his party wanted to use the platform to voice the opposition’s views.
Sources also told the Post the Civic Party, which has five legislators, would stay in the chamber.
“I’m among the minority in the camp,” Chu said on Monday afternoon.
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Raymond Chan Chi-chuen, also of Council Front, said he opposed extending the current Legco term by a year. “But I will respond to other issues later,” he said.
In his post, Chu argued that serving out the extended term would go against democratic principles, as the extra year did not have a popular mandate.
“A boycott of Legco’s extended term could create momentum to sustain the democratic movement,” he said. “It could tell the international community that the ‘Hong Kong question has yet to be resolved’ and step up pressure on the Communist Party to resume the Legco elections.”
Chu said the pan-democrats should make the decision on whether to stay based on a referendum or credible opinion polls.
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Opposition activists had called for their colleagues to quit the legislature en masse if Beijing decided to ban four opposition lawmakers, who were disqualified from seeking re-election, from the chamber for the extended sitting.
But with the standing committee allowing the four – Alvin Yeung Ngok-kiu, Kwok Ka-ki and Dennis Kwok of the Civic Party, alongside the accountancy sector’s Kenneth Leung – to continue taking their seats, pan-democrat politicians have found themselves in a dilemma.
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They may face questions if they choose to serve, after accusing Beijing of contravening the Basic Law, which allows only four-year terms.
But if they do not see out the term, they will be unable to oppose any controversial proposals the government planned to push through in the coming year.
Asked if all six lawmakers of his group, The Professionals Guild, would stay, Leung said: “We are inclined to continue our work in Legco but we are still obtaining voters’ views in various sectors.”
Apart from Leung, the group’s legislators include Dennis Kwok of the Civic Party, social welfare representative Shiu Ka-chun, Joseph Lee Kok-long of the health services sector, information technology representative Charles Mok and education sector lawmaker Ip Kin-yuen.
Wu said there was a need for the opposition to remain as “under the current political climate, it is difficult to carry on protests on streets and international lobbying”.
He added: “We note there are different views on whether pan-democrats should stay. But our party has the responsibility to make a political judgment.”
Council Front lawmaker Claudia Mo Man-ching also disagreed with Chu, and said quitting the legislature would be “self-defeating”.
“We wouldn’t have the capacity and resources if we leave the legislature,” she said.
The Hong Kong Public Opinion Research Institute, headed by former University of Hong Kong pollster Robert Chung Ting-yiu, is expected to release the findings of its survey this Friday on whether opposition lawmakers should stay for the extended term.
