Slogan to stay for the time being, says HK Alliance

Organisers of the June 4 candlelight vigil on Saturday said the group’s slogan calling for an end to one-party rule on the mainland will stay – for the time being – until a full analysis on the latest political situation is carried out.

For years, leaders of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China have chanted the slogan when they commemorate the 1989 Tianamen Square massacre at Victoria Park.

However, the alliance is in the spotlight after Beijing’s top representative in Hong Kong, Luo Huining, said people who call for the “end of one-party rule” are the “real enemies” of the SAR.

Richard Tsoi, the alliance’s secretary, said it’s difficult to speculate on the meaning of Luo’s speech, but he said they are going to discuss and assess the latest political situation, which he described as “critical.”

“The Hong Kong Alliance has more than 30 years history in Hong Kong as an legal entity. We have long been upholding the principle of acting in a peaceful, rational and legal manner,” he said.

“In view of the latest situation, we will carefully analyse the political situation happened recently to see how to move forward.”

Tsoi declined to say if the alliance will remove the slogan from its operational goal.

“Without any formal discussion and decision, we will of course still be using the decisions or conclusions made in the past as our basic principle and as our guidance,” he said.

Meanwhile, Beijing loyalist Tam Yiu-chung sidestepped questions on whether Beijing’s declaration meant the Hong Kong Alliance will have to be banned, saying any organsations need to abide by the law.

The standing committee member of the National People’s Congress said what’s more important is that Luo had clearly mentioned what kind of chants are problematic and people should stop using them.

When asked if Beijing has toughened its stance, Tam said there had been some changes in Hong Kong in recent years, and some people with a political agenda had used chants to cooperate with foreign forces.