BEIJING – Following a succession of recent movements to defeat democracy in Hong Kong, Beijing on Tuesday appeared somewhat restrictive, refusing to oust four of the city’s opposition lawmakers.
The decision by a top legislative committee in Beijing means that the four pro-democracy lawmakers are likely to retain their seats in the Hong Kong legislature for the remainder of an extended term, despite being barred from seeking re-election.
Many had expected the National People’s Association Standing Committee to rule that the elected legislators would have to make a decision that would have been in line with Beijing’s ongoing campaign to sideline the city’s pro-democracy camp. Tuesday’s vote indicated that Beijing officials may have wanted to prevent widespread public outrage over such a move.
“From Beijing’s point of view, the intention is to prevent and manage conflict and controversy so that Hong Kong can concentrate on tackling the pandemic and addressing livelihood issues,” said Lau Siu-kai, a former Hong Kong official. Kong who is now a senior Beijing adviser on Hong Kong policy.
The announcement comes a day after police launched a dramatic move against critics of the government, arresting Jimmy Lai, a leading pro-democracy media mogul, along with his two sons and four of his executives at national security level, and raiding on ‘ the offices of his newspaper. Shortly after midnight on Wednesday, Mr Lai was released from prison on bail and was met outside a police station by jubilant supporters, local news media reported.
The whip against Mr Lai and his newspaper was the latest action demonstrating China’s determination to counter invalidity with a comprehensive national security law imposed on the city on June 30.
Authorities have arrested young activists for posting on social media and fired a tenured law professor from his job at a university. At the end of July, they disqualified 12 candidates for pro-democracy, including the four incumbent legislators, from running in the next legislative elections. Officials cited grounds for disqualification that included objections to the National Security Act.
After the government announced that it had postponed the elections originally scheduled for September by a year, questions arose about the fate of the four legislators and whether they could stay in the legislature.
The Hong Kong government handed over the issue to the Beijing Legislature’s standing committee. That committee met on Tuesday and voted on a resolution approving the extension of the Hong Kong legislature’s term without taking a single decision on the four opposition leaders.
Beijing appears to have decided that removing the lawmakers this month was not worth the effort, said Michael C. Davis, a retired professor of Hong Kong law who is now a senior research researcher at the University of Beijing. Columbia.
“They just did not want to deprive people anymore, and will wait until next year,” Mr Davis said.
Beijing might also want to prevent the United States from giving another reason to attack China, while relations are in a downward spiral, partly over Hong Kong. The Trump administration has sought to punish Hong Kong and mainland Chinese officials for pro-democracy protests, including by imposing sanctions.
Even with the four pro-democracy legislators likely to remain in the legislature next year, the pro-Beijing camp retains a large majority.
Beijing wants pro-democracy activists to serve as a “loyal opposition” that keeps political debates within well-defined boundaries, adviser Lau said. The new security law – which imposes certain limits on certain forms of political speech – could help in the opposition, he said.
“If they do not follow this path, they have no political careers in this system, they can only act as street fighters, which makes them vulnerable to punishment by the law,” Mr Lau said.
There is one more possible legal threat to the ongoing service of the four legislators in the coming year. The Hong Kong government could still try not to overthrow them, but that now seems less likely.
Since Beijing’s national security law, several countries have imposed sanctions and even signed extradition treaties with Hong Kong.
Chinese officials have expressed support for the arrest of Mr. Hong Kong police by Mr. Lai, the media tycoon, and the raid on the offices of his newspaper, Apple Daily.
But on Tuesday, city residents advised to express their support for the newspaper and Mr Lai. The newspaper had sold out early in the morning in many news stations. Large lunches formed outside a restaurant owned by one of Mr. Lai’s sons, who was also trapped in the whip.
Within a day of the robbery, shares of Mr Lai’s media group, Next Digital, had risen more than ten times as residents bought supplies to show their support for the company.
Chris Buckley contributed reporting from Sydney and Tiffany May from Hong Kong. Amber Wang contributed research.
