Holding Primaries Can't Be Illegal, Says Ronny Tong

Executive councillor and senior counsel Ronny Tong said on Wednesday that he can't see how holding primary polls to choose candidates for elections could violate Hong Kong's national security law.

But he said he wasn't sure whether activities surrounding the polls held by the pro-democracy camp last July are suspected of having been illegal, for example, the funding arrangements.

Tong's comments came after dozens of pro-democracy figures who took part or helped organise the primaries were arrested on Wednesday morning.

The camp had said that the polls were to help them with their goal of securing more than half the seats in Legco, with some vowing to then vote down government proposals to put pressure on the administration.

Speaking on a radio programme, Tong said it is normal for lawmakers to vote down government initiatives, and he does not see how the primaries themselves would have violated the security law.

But he said the vetoing of all funding requests and paralysing the government could amount to serious interference in the work of the government.

Last year, Chief Executive Carrie Lam warned that the primary polls might have amounted to "subversion".

She later scrapped the Legco elections in any case, claiming they couldn't be held because of the pandemic.