Hong Kong | Beijing loyalists boost pressure on democracy camp

Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam

Hong Kong officials have joined Chinese counterparts in blasting the city’s pro-democracy opposition for filibustering and stalling government policy, even as the coronavirus pandemic keeps its broader protest movement largely at bay.
Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam and other pro-establishment figures have in recent days accused the opposition of endangering the city’s prized autonomy and livelihood. Those remarks followed similar criticism earlier this week from Chinese agencies overseeing the financial hub, including the central government’s Liaison Office and the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office (HKMAO), which accused lawmakers of potentially violating their oaths – a sign Beijing could be losing patience with months of legislative gridlock.
The vocal intervention of mainland agencies in the city’s politics – particularly after Chinese President Xi Jinping appointed hardliners to head both of the main agencies overseeing Hong Kong – could raise tensions ahead of an important Legislative Council election scheduled for September.
Pro-establishment Hong Kong lawmaker Priscilla Leung yesterday praised the Chinese agencies for criticizing opposition filibustering tactics in committee meetings at the Legislative Council.
“They’re dragging Hong Kong into the grave,” she said on a Radio Television Hong Kong program, adding that the comments from the HKMAO and Liaison Office make it clear such behavior “will not be tolerated. And you would bring an end to Hong Kong’s ‘one country, two systems,’ so you should stop doing it.”
Ever since Hong Kong’s legislature reconvened following months of protests last year against Beijing’s tightening grip, pro-democracy lawmakers have shouted Lam down at important speeches and stalled the appointment of committee chairs meant to preside over and approve government policies – with a notable recent exception coming when both sides approved a stimulus package to offset the impact of the virus.
The 70-seat Legislative Council has the power to pass laws under the semi-autonomous “one country, two systems” framework established before the former British colony’s return to Chinese rule in 1997.
Hong Kong’s pro-democracy opposition politicians, many of whom took part in or supported the protest movement that has mostly been on hiatus since the virus hit, have defended the filibustering. Both of the mainland agencies have “no power or right to influence or comment on how LegCo and its subcommittees operate and how LegCo members fulfill their responsibilities,” lawmaker Dennis Kwok, who was singled out for criticism, said in an emailed statement Monday.
Following the opposition’s landslide victory in local district council elections in November, Beijing is likely trying to frighten pro-democracy lawmakers ahead of the even more important Legislative Council vote, said another opposition politician, Claudia Mo.
“They are doing everything they can to clamp down on the opposition,” she said. “We used to call Beijing’s meddling in Hong Kong the ‘invisible black hand.’ Now it’s not only visible, but actually has gone center stage.”
The comments from Leung, the pro-establishment politician, came a day after Lam defended the right of Beijing’s agencies to comment on Hong Kong politics, following pushback from the opposition.
“I want to refute categorically that any comments made by the two offices constitutes interference,” Lam said. Iain Marlow & Natalie Lung, Bloomberg