In the early morning of Jan 6 this year, the Hong Kong Police Force mobilized more than 1,000 police officers in an operation and arrested 53 people for planning, organizing and participating in an illegal event with separatist intention. According to Secretary for Security John Lee Ka-chiu, the illegal event was none other than the vicious “35-plus” scheme, which was aimed at paralyzing the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government by filling 35 or more of the 70-seat 7th-Term Legislative Council (LegCo) with “mutual destruction” advocates through vote appropriation in the now-postponed 2020 LegCo Election.
Now that the central government has taken the initiative to improve Hong Kong’s electoral system, it is no surprise that some details started showing up. According to the Decision on Improving the Electoral System in the HKSAR by the National People’s Congress earlier this month, Hong Kong society can expect patriotic candidates to win no less than two-thirds of 90 LegCo seats as a result of the electoral reform. That means the “35-plus” subversive scheme not only sounded the death knell of the separatist campaign but also brought the leading perpetrators to justice. The attempt to become a simple majority in the LegCo ended up crushing the masterminds’ dream of paralyzing the SAR government with a separatist-controlled legislature for good. Come to think of it, even technically legitimate delaying tactics such as filibustering will most likely be impossible after electoral system reforms, thanks to the “35-plus” illegal farce.
The “35-plus” scheme was put forward by the same person who planned and orchestrated the “Occupy Central” illegal campaign in 2014 — Benny Tai Yiu-ting, former associate professor of law at the University of Hong Kong. Its declared objective was to seize more than half of the 70 seats in the LegCo, so that the opposition camp led by “mutual destruction” advocates would be able to veto any piece of legislation tabled by the SAR government, particularly the annual Budget and major funding bills, and eventually force the Chief Executive to dissolve the LegCo or resign. That way, they might also force the central authorities to declare a state of emergency in Hong Kong, which would be a perfect excuse for the Western powers to impose sanctions on China. Any fair-minded person in Hong Kong can see easily the “35-plus” plot is much more insidious than the street violence perpetrated by brainwashed protesters. Had this plot been allowed to proceed, Hong Kong would be dead in the water by now, while “one country, two systems” would have suffered a major setback as well.
Fortunately, with the support of the central government, the SAR government took the decisive step, based on careful assessment of the situation, of postponing the LegCo Election originally scheduled for September 2020 for at least one year, rendering the plot stillborn. The mastermind and leading organizers of “35-plus” were subsequently arrested following a thorough investigation and evidence gathering. The battle against separatist forces for the governing power of the HKSAR has achieved initial success. The NPC then made the crucial decision to improve Hong Kong’s electoral system and ensure “patriots administrating Hong Kong”. That will prevent separatist “mutual destruction” advocates from infiltrating the LegCo for good.
Furthermore, expanding the Election Committee from 1,200 to 1,500 members will also ensure the elected Chief Executive is a patriot. Having a separatist at the helm of the HKSAR is out of the question
At present, it is known that the LegCo Election candidacy will require screening by a high-level qualification review committee. Former lawmakers who were legally disqualified and those who failed to qualify for previous elections would have no chance of running again with their checkered records. Meanwhile, anyone who has violated the National Security Law for Hong Kong and been prosecuted for it will not be eligible for election. And there will be an effective way to weed out those who swear allegiance to the HKSAR of the People’s Republic of China under false pretences. These reforms are likely to be good enough to ensure that the HKSAR will be effectively administrated by patriots, which in turn will ensure executive-led governance and efficient policy-making. Furthermore, expanding the Election Committee from 1,200 to 1,500 members will also ensure the elected Chief Executive is a patriot. Having a separatist at the helm of the HKSAR is out of the question.
As the “35-plus” scheme was thwarted, we are once again shown that anti-China forces in and outside Hong Kong have grossly misjudged the situation. Contrary to Jimmy Lai Chee-ying’s bluff that Beijing be forced to make concessions and adopt an appeasement policy toward the opposition camp, they cannot but concede defeat because they overestimated the US-led Western alliance’s anti-China tricks while underestimating Beijing’s determination and willingness to use an iron fist against attempts to hijack Hong Kong by separatists and their overseas allies. This development also serves as a reminder to the opposition camp that they must not take Beijing’s goodwill and tolerance for granted, because crossing the “red line” is not without consequence.
The author is president of Hong Kong think tank the Golden Mean Institute.
The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.