Mulish opposition will feel the stick: China Daily editorial

The organizers of the "35-plus" scheme aimed at securing the majority of seats in the Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region expressed confidence in the success of their plan on Tuesday, following the media attention given to their so-called primaries on the weekend, a US-style preelection ballot to select candidates for the LegCo election in September.

But they should beware being hoisted by their own petard.

Following the large number of complaints about the legitimacy of "primaries" and their intended purpose — the organizers of the "35-plus" scheme aim to secure a majority in the LegCo by winning more than 35 seats so they can veto all major government policies and initiatives including the annual budget — the SAR government is carrying out an in-depth investigation to determine whether the organizers violated the election law and whether the "35-plus" plan might lead to acts of subversion.

Those in the opposition camp who believe that with their "35-plus" plan they will be able to hijack the HKSAR's legislature to extort political ransom, a scenario that would bring even more misery to Hong Kong residents than the yearlong violent campaign perpetrated by the rioters, are deluding themselves.

Acts that seriously interfere in, disrupt or undermine the performance of the government's duties and functions, are punishable as acts of subversion under Hong Kong's newly enacted national security legislation.

The overconfidence of the organizers of the "35-plus" stunt also displays their selective amnesia about a fundamental prerequisite for Hong Kong's "one country, two systems" framework. They have forgotten that, as repeatedly emphasized by late Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping, "Hong Kong people governing Hong Kong" should mean the administration of Hong Kong affairs by "Hong Kong people, with patriots forming the main body of administrators".

While Hong Kong enjoys a high degree of autonomy, it is still directly under the authority of the central government in Beijing and it will never be allowed to oppose the central government or resist its overall jurisdiction over the region, no matter how much backing such "color" stunts and strategies receive from external forces.

The moderate members of the opposition camp in Hong Kong now have a clear choice to make. They can either choose to abide by the law or they can take their lead from the likes of Benny Tai Yiu-ting and his foreign patrons in which case they will have to face the consequences of engaging in any acts of subversion.