A group of Hong Kong activists are demanding a return to British rule as a stepping stone toward independence, as fears grow that Beijing is tightening its grip on the territory.
Pro-independence advocates have launched The Alliance to Resume British Sovereignty over Hong Kong and Independence party, the second political group in recent months to advocate a breakaway from China.
“Independence is the ultimate goal, to return to British rule is just a transitional phase,” party leader Billy Chiu (招顯聰) said yesterday.
The activists said they believed it would be easier to gain independence from Britain than China.
“An independent nation is Hong Kong’s only way out,” Chiu said, adding that the new party, which consists of about 30 members, is to be formally announced on Sunday.
Chiu in 2013 broke into a Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) facility in central Hong Kong holding up a colonial flag and demanding that the PLA to “get out” of the territory.
The Hong Kong National Party, launched in March, said it was tapping into the territory’s increasing desire to break away from Beijing.
Although not all activists are campaigning for self-rule, some see it as the only solution and have said they are not afraid to use violence to achieve their goal.
The negative sentiment has been exacerbated by incidents such as the recent disappearance of five Hong Kong booksellers.
The growing pro-independence stance in the territory has drawn ire from Beijing and authorities in Hong Kong, who have warned that campaigning for a breakaway will damage the territory’s future prosperity and could result in unspecified “action according to the law.”
In other news, pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong (黃之鋒) was denied the chance to stand for election after a court threw out his bid to lower the candidate age limit from 21.
The 19-year-old, who became the face of Hong Kong’s “Umbrella Movement” for his role in the 2014 pro-democracy protests, had expressed interest in running for office.
Hong Kong residents can vote from the age of 18, but can only stand for election from 21 — something that Wong has said is unconstitutional.
A Hong Kong court yesterday said the issue should be dealt with by lawmakers.
“What should be the proper choice of the minimum age of candidature is obviously a matter of political judgement for the legislature, but not one for the court to make in the name of remedial interpretation,” Judge Thomas Au (區慶祥) said in his judgement.
Wong told reporters that he “respects” the court’s decision.
“Although I cannot run in the elections this year ... [I] hope that in September there will be lawmakers representing the voice of the youth in the new session of the Legislative Council to seek lowering the age limit from 21 to 18,” he said.
NO-LIMITS PARTNERSHIP: ‘The bottom line’ is that if the US were to have a conflict with China or Russia it would likely open up a second front with the other, a US senator said Beijing and Moscow could cooperate in a conflict over Taiwan, the top US intelligence chief told the US Senate this week. “We see China and Russia, for the first time, exercising together in relation to Taiwan and recognizing that this is a place where China definitely wants Russia to be working with them, and we see no reason why they wouldn’t,” US Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told a US Senate Committee on Armed Services hearing on Thursday. US Senator Mike Rounds asked Haines about such a potential scenario. He also asked US Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lieutenant General Jeffrey Kruse
INSPIRING: Taiwan has been a model in the Asia-Pacific region with its democratic transition, free and fair elections and open society, the vice president-elect said Taiwan can play a leadership role in the Asia-Pacific region, vice president-elect Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) told a forum in Taipei yesterday, highlighting the nation’s resilience in the face of geopolitical challenges. “Not only can Taiwan help, but Taiwan can lead ... not only can Taiwan play a leadership role, but Taiwan’s leadership is important to the world,” Hsiao told the annual forum hosted by the Center for Asia-Pacific Resilience and Innovation think tank. Hsiao thanked Taiwan’s international friends for their long-term support, citing the example of US President Joe Biden last month signing into law a bill to provide aid to Taiwan,
China’s intrusive and territorial claims in the Indo-Pacific region are “illegal, coercive, aggressive and deceptive,” new US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo said on Friday, adding that he would continue working with allies and partners to keep the area free and open. Paparo made the remarks at a change-of-command ceremony at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii, where he took over the command from Admiral John Aquilino. “Our world faces a complex problem set in the troubling actions of the People’s Republic of China [PRC] and its rapid buildup of forces. We must be ready to answer the PRC’s increasingly intrusive and
STATE OF THE NATION: The legislature should invite the president to deliver an address every year, the TPP said, adding that Lai should also have to answer legislators’ questions The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday proposed inviting president-elect William Lai (賴清德) to make a historic first state of the nation address at the legislature following his inauguration on May 20. Lai is expected to face many domestic and international challenges, and should clarify his intended policies with the public’s representatives, KMT caucus secretary-general Hung Meng-kai (洪孟楷) said when making the proposal at a meeting of the legislature’s Procedure Committee. The committee voted to add the item to the agenda for Friday, along with another similar proposal put forward by the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP). The invitation is in line with Article 15-2