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Purge guts Hong Kong opposition, but activists vow to fight on despite shifting goalposts ahead of Legislative Council elections
- The third part in our series on the Legislative Council elections was to have been on the opposition camp’s internal competition
- With Thursday’s banning of key figures, this final part now focuses on their changing fortunes
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A purge. A new deep red line. A shifting of the goalposts.
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The descriptions came fast and furious as stunned political players and observers tried to absorb the significance of the mass disqualifications slapped by the Hong Kong government against the opposition ranks on Thursday, turfing out even sitting lawmakers along with localists who had grown in prominence in recent months.
If before, the rules on who could enter the fray to contest the Legislative Council elections were focused on their oath-taking and sincerity in upholding the city’s mini-Constitution or the Basic Law, now there was a clear shifting of the goalposts, observers indicated.
Among the chief reasons cited for their disqualifications were their lack of support for the city’s new national security law, the opposition’s previous calls for foreign governments to sanction Beijing and Hong Kong, and their plans to take over Legco through the ballot box.
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Even though there had been fears about mass disqualification, the news still shocked many when it was announced midafternoon, as one hopeful after another got their rejection letter.
The agenda was obvious, the opposition members and analysts said.
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