A treacherous fault line

BY INSISTING ON DEMANDS THAT HAVE NO legal standing, leaders of the Hong Kong Federation of Students have effectively chosen to stand on a treacherous fault line.

In their first dialogue with Hong Kong SAR Government officials held on Tuesday on the city's proposed electoral reforms, the student leaders reiterated their demands for public nomination of 2017 Chief Executive candidates. They were asking for a retraction of the National People's Congress Standing Committee's August decision, and even amendment of the Basic Law, which stipulates that a broadly representative Nominating Committee will nominate future CE candidates.

Under the "One Country, Two Systems" arrangement, the central government has a constitutional role to play in the political development of the HKSAR. The NPCSC has the ultimate authority to interpret the Basic Law, which constitutes the sole legal basis for any changes made to the city's electoral arrangements.