The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPCSC) has decided that a Nominating Committee (NC) will have sole responsibility for nominating candidates for the election of the Chief Executive (CE) by universal suffrage in 2017.

This will prevent anyone opposed to the central government from entering the race to become CE. The decision has effectively put a stop to the opposition camp's unconstitutional demands. Benny Tai Yiu-ting, leading initiator of the illegal "Occupy Central" movement, had said before the NPCSC announced its decision that he was confident at least 10,000 people would join the campaign when "Occupy" officially started. But his tone changed dramatically this week. While insisting the illegal campaign would go ahead anyway, Tai conceded in an interview with Bloomberg that the NPCSC decision meant any attempt to use "Occupy" as a weapon to force Beijing into some kind of compromise over "genuine universal suffrage", had failed. He said the NPCSC's firm stance indicates "the number of people joining us will not be as large as we had expected. This is because of the pragmatic outlook of Hong Kong people."

In admitting that the strategy to win concessions from Beijing on election reform had failed and support for "Occupy" was waning, Tai gave the impression he was waving the white flag before the battle had begun.

Global Times, a popular tabloid published by People's Daily, said in a recent editorial "the radical opposition in Hong Kong is a paper tiger". This is a very accurate description. The central government has always been well mannered when dealing with the opposition camp in Hong Kong in the hope of achieving consensus on constitutional reform. But the "pan-democrats" interpreted Beijing's goodwill as a sign of weakness. They convinced themselves they had considerable popular support. They believed this could be their trump card. However, their perceived moral high ground collapsed when 1.5 million local residents signed a petition for the peaceful implementation of universal suffrage. Nearly 200,000 of them are estimated to have marched from Victoria Park to Central to denounce "Occupy". Soon after the popular anti-"Occupy" tidal waves the NPCSC dealt the illegal movement another heavy blow with the decision on the 2017 CE election by universal suffrage.

The frustration of the radical opposition came to light as Tai told Bloomberg their threat of protest action had failed to obtain any concessions from the central government "up to this point". He now hopes the central government will discuss their less-radical demands for "true democracy". Not surprisingly some of them are too stubborn to see the truth. These people still refuse to back down. Chan Kin-man, one of the co-initiators of "Occupy", said he expects thousands to join the campaign when the time comes. Meanwhile, Chow Wing-hong, secretary-general of the Hong Kong Federation of Students, claimed some college students said they would boycott classes later this month in protest at the NPCSC decision. Apparently the radical groups still intend to use mass protests as a bargaining chip. They no longer have the necessary momentum to continue much longer - let alone to control the situation.

The central government and many others involved in Hong Kong affairs have been patient with the opposition camp since the handover to ensure Hong Kong remained a harmonious society. The opposition mistook Beijing's restraint for resignation. It has been treating the SAR government with contempt over issues concerning constitutional development. Apparently the "pan-democrats" do not understand the "One Country, Two Systems" policy. They always seem to believe "Two Systems" come before "One Country", but the opposite is really the case. They also insist Hong Kong's capitalist system is more important than the motherland's socialist system. They, therefore, feel this gives them the right to dictate constitutional affairs. This delusional mindset has led them to believe they are in a position to challenge and even blackmail the central government.

Another major mistake they have made is to believe that "international pressure" might somehow persuade Beijing to give them what they want. They probably wished they could play the lead role in a "color revolution" in Hong Kong - and maybe even on the mainland. What a shame their performance so far has been so appalling.

The author is a veteran current affairs commentator.

(HK Edition 09/05/2014 page10)