Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

top

World

Political showdown in Hong Kong ahead of key reform vote

Meanwhile pro-government supporters waved Chinese national flags and shouted “2017, make it happen!” through loudspeakers.

– City at crossroads –

Political analyst Sonny Lo called the vote “a critical juncture” and said the bill was unlikely to pass due to the pan democrats’ pledge.

That paves the way for a further schism between Hong Kong and Beijing, he said.

“Beijing will lay the blame on those democrats who torpedo the political reform bill, which (it) believes represents a sincere concession from the central government.”

It comes after police arrested 10 people “on suspicion of conspiracy to manufacture explosives”, and seized materials they said could be used to make the highly volatile explosive TATP.

Police said one suspect had claimed to be a member of a “radical local group” named by local media as the National Independent Party.

The group was reportedly linked to the pro democracy “localist” movement that is seeking a more independent Hong Kong.

Five men and one woman were jointly charged with conspiracy to cause an explosion and were due to appear in court Wednesday, while one man and three women were freed on bail pending further investigations.

Advertisement. Scroll to continue reading.

But activists accused the authorities of a smear campaign, with many saying they had never heard of the group.

Some fear more radicalism could emerge if the political impasse continues.

“With the current political deadlock Hong Kong is moving to a situation where it could be unstable and could be more violent,” said Surya Deva, an associate professor at Hong Kong’s City University school of law.

Hong Kong is semi autonomous after being handed back to China by Britain in 1997 and sees much greater freedoms than on the mainland, but there are fears that those are being eroded.

About The Author

Pages: 1 2

Comments
Advertisement

More on Capital News