Christine Loh

Opinion | What’s left of Hong Kong’s Legislative Council must show it can work for city’s interests

Remaining legislators from the pro-establishment camp have a chance to show they are not Beijing’s stooges, that they can break free of vested interests and fear of unpopularity by pushing critical reforms, including in climate action

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Why you can trust SCMP

Christine Loh

Published: 6:30am, 28 Nov 2020Updated: 7:10am, 28 Nov 2020

How will Hong Kong’s pro-establishment camp perform now that the opposition legislators have resigned?

The camp is not uniform. Its members represent different political parties and leanings. With the opposition gone, these differences will become more obvious. Yet this is an opportunity for the remaining legislators to distinguish themselves.

They need to show they are not Beijing’s stooges. They are “patriotic” in that they respect the nation, uphold the motherland’s exercise of sovereignty, and will not harm Hong Kong’s prosperity and stability. There is no reason not to act in the public interest.

Hong Kong politics is often framed by the narrative of the “good” pro-democracy camp vs the “evil” pro-establishment camp because of ideological differences. The opposition rides on fears about the mainland’s one-party system, which plays into the hands of those who want to demonise China at a time of geopolitical shift.

With the long and violent protests last year, US-China conflict over trade and technology, Beijing’s imposition of the national security law to ensure widespread disruption does not happen again, and local activists running to foreign countries calling for sanctions, Hong Kong politics has been trapped in a “good” vs “evil” narrative that does not advance Hong Kong’s interests either within “one country” or the evolution of “two systems”.

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Hong Kong opposition lawmakers to resign en masse over Legislative Council disqualifications

Between now and the next legislative election in the autumn of 2021 – Covid-19 pandemic allowing – pro-establishment legislators have the opportunity to show us their better side.