Benny Tai Yiu-ting and his ilk held a “primary election” earlier this month without any proof of legitimacy. Since neither the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, which is a national law promulgated according to the Constitution of the People’s Republic of China, nor any Hong Kong law, such as the Election Ordinance, mentions “primary election”, the exercise held by the opposition camp on July 11 and 12 was unconstitutional and illegal to begin with; while the fact that it was apparently a knockoff of the primary elections held by the Republican and Democratic political parties in the United States every four years to pick their respective candidate to run for the country’s presidency indicates it was no more than a political maneuver aimed at seizing the governing power of the HKSAR.
The “primary election” lacked not only legal grounds but also the authorization and supervision that the US primaries have according to federal law. In practice, the opposition “primary” was a complete joke plagued by a disorderly voting process bound to produce skewed results that will create only confusion in the forthcoming Legislative Council election. The government therefore rightly declared its procedures and results null and void.
The “primary election” lacked not only legal grounds but also the authorization and supervision that the US primaries have according to federal law. In practice, the opposition “primary” was a complete joke plagued by a disorderly voting process bound to produce skewed results that will create only confusion in the forthcoming Legislative Council election
As we know, legitimate primary elections in Western electoral politics are conducted by political parties pursuant to the law and internal party rules, for the purpose of selecting candidates to run for public office in general elections. Similarly, it is a common practice among political parties to select the most competitive representatives to stand in general elections. Therefore, a primary election is legitimate so long as it is authorized by existing law.
The “primary election” hatched by Tai was executed as if he was authorized by existing law to determine who should represent the opposition parties in the LegCo election, as a behind-the-scenes showrunner if you will. However, apart from the word “primary”, it has nothing in common with the legitimate primaries of Western democracies, where political parties hold the primary election entirely on their own terms and free of outside influence. Although they are commonly known as the opposition camp in Hong Kong, those political groups do not follow the same political philosophy or code of conduct. As a matter of fact, they cannot even agree on how their so-called core values are defined and upheld. In addition to those fundamental differences, they also maintain diverse strategies to achieve their ultimate goals, hence the existence of two major factions within the opposition camp — “pro-independence” extremist groups and “moderate opposition parties”.
Furthermore, the “primary” was open to the general electorate in Hong Kong instead of individual opposition parties. Given the illegal nature of the “primary”, most of the voters were presumably ardent supporters of unlawful political protests and particularly the illegal, violent campaign that has gravely traumatized Hong Kong since June last year. It is safe to assume supporters of the pro-establishment camp, and even many endorsing moderate “pan-democrats” have shunned the “primary”, because the results showed moderate opposition parties had been marginalized, leaving the extremist groups’ representatives in the running for LegCo election candidacy. The outcome of the “primary” indicates Tai is intent on using it to usurp the LegCo election and turn the latter into an uprising by the extremists to topple the SAR government.
According to the Basic Law and Hong Kong law, the SAR government is the sole legitimate authority to conduct political elections. With a set of strict rules established in the Election Ordinance, the government is responsible for a fair and just LegCo election through strict supervision of the polling procedure, closely monitoring campaign financing of all parties involved and the tightest possible protection of voter information as well as public security. In this regard, one has every reason to question how Tai and his cohorts could have been able to hold a legitimate election without satisfying the Basic Law or Hong Kong law in all matters concerning its legality. No wonder the public dismissed the “primary” as a sham poll.
The opposition camp, by deliberately staging an illegal poll, has in effect shown its hand and intention to upset the existing electoral system, leaving the fairness and justice of the upcoming LegCo election in jeopardy.
One may also wonder whether the “primary election” has breached the new National Security Law and whether the masterminds and their supporters should be held accountable. The answers to these questions are obviously affirmative, as coordinators of the “primary”, Au Nok-hin and Andrew Chiu Ka-yin, have since successively renounced their role in the “election” work, apparently in panic.
With the nefarious intention to seize control of LegCo in pursuit of their subversive agenda, the opposition’s illegal “primary election” served as a signal for a new phase of the illegal campaign known as the “black revolution”. It should be a wake-up call for members of the public and the watchdogs in electoral affairs to join forces in stopping any political scam from coming true and preventing the extremists from taking control of the legislature. The moderate “pan-democrats” should save themselves by resisting, if not opposing, Tai’s political manipulation before falling victim to his plot of a total political catastrophe. The Electoral Affairs Commission should also be alert to a chain effect caused by the illegal “primary election” amid the worsening COVID-19 pandemic situation.
In the best interest of Hong Kong society, the SAR government should seriously consider a thorough criminal investigation into the “primary election”, so as to ensure the constitutionality, legality, and political integrity of the forthcoming LegCo election against untoward interference in any shape or form.
The author is a current affairs commentator.
The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.
