Hong Kong elections: biggest opposition party ends special meeting with no decision on contesting Legislative Council poll
- Group’s stance closely watched because of potential impact on competitiveness of coming race
- Pro-Beijing forces have been calling on party members to run in the next election held under a political shake-up by central government
Their absence allowed the party to avoid taking a vote, sidestepping any potential accusation from the pro-Beijing camp that it was boycotting the coming poll, a source said. Rival figures had earlier warned that Democrat leaders risked breaching the national security law if they barred members from contesting the polls.
Instead, dozens of the meeting’s participants voted to authorise the party’s central committee to set up a mechanism to assess members wishing to throw their hats into the ring. Any hopefuls who passed through the mechanism are still required to secure a green light from the party at an extraordinary general meeting in order to sign up for the race.
The central committee is expected to meet as early as this week.
Speaking to reporters after Sunday’s gathering, party chairman Lo Kin-hei said: “From those who had spoken during the meeting, I was given the impression that more members had wanted the party not to take part in the election. But there were also many members expressing views that we should take part.
“We did not hear anyone at the meeting indicate an intention to take part in the coming Legco election. Thus there is no need for us to make an immediate decision.”
The stance of the party has been closely watched, as its decision could have an impact on the competitiveness of the coming legislative contest, in which the powerful Election Committee, dominated by Beijing-loyalists, have a say on the nomination of candidates.
While Beijing officials had earlier said the overhaul was not aimed at creating a homogenous political landscape and eliminating dissenting voices, recent events in the city had convinced some Democratic Party members there was no point in being part of a system designed to contain their influence.
Why Hong Kong’s Democratic Party is not worried about its future
It was understood that during the three-hour meeting on Sunday, some Democrats had suggested the party should still field candidates and see whether they would be disqualified. But a number of members said the party should refrain from declaring a boycott as doing so could expose it to accusations of wrongdoing by the authorities.
Pro-Beijing figure Lo Man-tuen earlier warned the Democrats they could be in breach of the national security law if they banned members from taking part in polls, as it was tantamount to destroying the new electoral system imposed by Beijing.
One source said: “They want the party to play safe, which is totally understandable.”
Democrat Ramon Yuen Hoi-man, who is also a district councillor for Sham Shui Po, suggested the central committee come up with a “high threshold” mechanism for party members who were interested in running in December.
“In the past when lots of members were keen to run, there was a mechanism in place in which we came up with our list of candidates after assessing the hopefuls’ ratings given by their respective district branch and their performance in opinion polls. But we do not have time for that this time as time is running out,” he said, as the nomination period would begin at the end of October.
Yuen said aspirants should secure at least 10 nominations from each of the party’s five district branches but admitted it would not be an easy task.
Another insider said it was the members’ consensus on Sunday to come up with a high threshold for the sake of party unity.
The changes involved setting up a vetting process to screen out candidates deemed unpatriotic, and new arrangements requiring all hopefuls to secure nominations from the Election Committee.
Several party stalwarts – including those currently in jail for their roles in unlawful assemblies since 2019, such as former chairman Albert Ho Chun-yan – have called for a boycott of what they described as an “insulting” election.
A faction led by several young members, however, is convinced that taking part in the poll would help shield the party – or at least themselves – from prosecution and further arrests.
A core party member said their latest decision was not prompted by pro-Beijing figures such as Lo Man-tuen. Instead, they wanted to increase pressure on those Democrats who had been privately lobbying for colleagues’ support to enter the race but had refused to publicly express their stance, he said.
“They should not hide behind the party and let it take all the political price in fielding candidates for the Legco polls,” the source said.
Democrats among 10 Hong Kong district councillors challenged over oath validity
Political scientist Ivan Choy Chi-keung, of Chinese University, said he believed the party was attempting to avoid giving pro-establishment forces more reasons to attack it, as well as prevent widening an internal rift.
“It also wants to buy time so it can observe whether some members believed to be keen on running, such as district councillors Edith Leung Yik-ting and Roy Kwong Chun-yu, will be disqualified by the authorities over their oaths. The party’s internal rift will be immediately eased if they are all unseated,” he said.
Leung was among 10 district councillors whose oaths of allegiances were challenged on Friday hours after taking them. They were asked to provide additional information about their work and past conduct, a process that could lead to disqualification if their vows were later deemed insincere, which can result in a five-year ban on running in elections.
Whether opposition candidates took part in the December poll also hinged on the outcome of the oath-taking process, Choy said.
