Police recommendation of outlawing party ‘a matter concerning the whole of Hong Kong’
The leader of Hong Kong’s embattled separatist party would not rule out fighting for his group’s survival in court, should the government go ahead with a plan to ban it as an “imminent threat” to national security.
“It is possible we will launch a judicial review,” Andy Chan Ho-tin said, when reporters pressed him on his next course of action at a forum on Sunday.
He said that would happen only if the ban is enforced, and if any subsequent appeal to the chief executive is rejected.
Chan chose his words carefully. He said: “I cannot use my words lightly… the secretary for security might cite what I do or say today.”
Lee has given the party until August 7 to submit a written statement convincing him not to give the force’s proposal the green light.
But Chan said he had not decided if he would respond to the minister.
“We have to be very careful, because the incident could have a wide influence. This is not a personal matter, or a problem of the HKNP’s, but a matter concerning the whole of Hong Kong,” he said.
Chan warned that the force’s mention of localism in the document suggested other political and advocacy groups in Hong Kong could face the same fate.
But pro-Beijing lawmaker Ma Fung-kwok argued that the government had been “very careful” in its handling of the matter.
“In the [HKNP’s] early days, some already questioned if it should be banned according to the Societies Ordinance, but the government and the police spent two years to gather information,” Ma said.
