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National security law and Hong Kong’s opposition camp: down but not out, can bloc reinvent itself as a loyal Beijing critic?
- The mood in Hong Kong’s pan-democratic camp is despondent, with 55 opposition activists arrested under the national security law
- Experts feel it will be tough for the parties to survive for long in the face of crackdown, but they could gradually become pressure groups
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With Beijing insisting only “patriots” can run Hong Kong, what does the future hold for the city’s fragmented opposition? In the second of a two-part special report, we examine the state of the opposition and whether it can survive the political tsunami sweeping over it. You can read part one here.
This is not how it was supposed to be for Hong Kong’s opposition parties.
After playing a prominent role during the 2019 protests against the now-withdrawn extradition bill, even if it meant not disavowing violence to keep allegiance with supporters, the camp was revitalised.
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The infighting disappeared almost overnight and a united opposition riding on the people’s discontent scored a landslide victory in the district council elections that year in November.
The bloc appeared on track to score in Legislative Council elections originally scheduled for last September.
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Their plan for “35-plus” reflected how much within grasp winning a majority of the legislature’s 70 seats seemed. That victory would have had implications for the 2022 race to choose the city’s chief executive.
Then it all unravelled.
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