HK activist’s attempt to exploit the election slammed

Hong Kong activist Benny Tai Yiu-ting came under fire on Wednesday for orchestrating the opposition camp's "primary" over the weekend.

Law experts and local political heavyweights criticized Tai, saying he was attempting to use the Legislative Council election to seize control of Hong Kong and coerce the central government into acceding to the opposition camp's demands.

Whether Tai's aims are achieved in the LegCo election, scheduled for Sept 6, his claims have undermined the rule of law in Hong Kong, they said.

Tian Feilong, executive director of the One Country Two Systems Research Institute, a Hong Kong-based think tank, said that the "primary" planned by Tai are not legal activities backed by Hong Kong laws. The goal of such a poll is to allow radical forces to concentrate its power to overturn the constitutional system of Hong Kong, he added.

The "primary" was organized by opposition candidates in a bid to select popular candidates who are more likely to secure seats in the new legislature. These candidates have made it clear that if they were to win a majority in the legislature, they would veto the government budget, coerce the central government after paralyzing the SAR government, and ask foreign countries to impose sanctions on the city.

This was not the first time that Tai has made efforts to overthrow governance in the SAR, Tian said.

For years, Tai had used the theory of "civil disobedience" to attack the governance of Hong Kong, the constitutional framework of "one country, two systems", and thereby overthrow this constitutional system, said Tian.

Kennedy Wong Ying-ho, a solicitor, said the "primary" is in a gray area of the law. Hong Kong's electoral laws make it very clear that it would be an offense if a third party, by whatever means, were to force a person to withdraw his or her nomination, he said.

As for Tai's plans after the election, Wong urged law enforcement to investigate whether Tai's plans to cripple the Hong Kong government after dominating the legislature are in violation of the new National Security Law, which criminalizes secession and subversion of State power.

Starry Lee Wai-king, the incumbent chairperson of the Hong Kong Legislative Council's House Committee, agreed that Tai's views had a pernicious effect on the city's rule of law.

Many residents are very angry to see that a large number of young people are being misled by the calls for "civil disobedience". They have been tricked into believing that their unlawful acts can help them achieve their idealistic goals, Lee said. However, in reality, their illegal acts can only ruin their futures and set them against their families and friends.

Lee called on universities and law enforcement agencies to solemnly enforce the law against those who abused their positions to achieve their personal political aims in contravention of the Basic Law and the National Security Law.

Kwun Tong District Councilor Frankie Ngan Man-yu said Tai has set a bad example for Hong Kong people as he continued to incite violence and illegal acts while he is out on bail for another crime.

Many young people are misled by Tai's active political performance, which suggests there are no serious consequences for breaking the law, Ngan said.

However, in their own cases, many young people missed out on a career overseas because they handed in their travel documents while out on bail or were rejected by a company because of their criminal records, he added.