Five localists plan to run for Legco seats in push for Hong Kong independence
Radicals say 15 per cent support for Hong Kong Indigenous leader Edward Leung in by-election shows rising tide of support for their ideas
Five pro-independence localists plan to vie for seats in the September Legislative Council elections as part of their bid to push to rewrite the Basic Law to make Hong Kong “a quasi city state”.
They warn of using more radical means to pursue their goals once elected and claim they would resign “in due course” to trigger by-elections that would serve as a de facto referendum on “Hong Kong independence”.
Their plan aims to bank on the rising tide of localism after political greenhorn Edward Leung Tin-kei of Hong Kong Indigenous took a handsome 15 per cent of votes in Sunday’s by-election.
The Mong Kok incident was the last straw. Hong Kong people have been fed up with Beijing and its puppet government in Hong Kong
The five are Dr Horace Chin Wan-kan, regarded as the spiritual leader of independence-seeking localism; lawmaker Wong Yuk-man; and militant localists Wong Yeung-tat, Cheng Chung-tai, and Alvin Cheng Kam-moon.
“The Mong Kok incident was the last straw. Hong Kong people have been fed up with Beijing and its puppet government in Hong Kong. We believe the time for Hong Kong people to determine their own future has come,” said Alvin Cheng, referring to the riot.
Cheng said once elected to the legislature they would form a committee to collect public opinion on how to rewrite the Basic Law to protect Hong Kong people’s interest, before resigning.
Chin, a Lingnan University academic, said: “As long as we can rewrite the Basic Law, there is a chance Hong Kong can became a quasi city state.”
