Ronny Tong Rejects Communist Party Allegiance Idea

Executive Council member Ronny Tong said on Monday that he hopes it will not become a prerequisite for the people of Hong Kong to have to swear allegiance to the Chinese Communist Party before they can run in elections.

Tong was responding to comments made by Hong Kong's new delegate to the National People's Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC), Tam Yiu-chung, who said over the weekend that anybody who calls for “the end of one-party rule” may be banned from future elections in the SAR.

Tam, who formerly chaired the pro-Beijing DAB party, said that since the Basic Law is based on the Chinese constitution – which has now affirmed the Communist Party’s status as “the most essential feature of socialism with Chinese characteristics” – any call for the end of one-party rule may be in breach of the requirement for a candidate to uphold the Basic Law.

But Tong said he thinks Tam was just speaking for himself, noting that the new members of the NPCSC were yet to hold a meeting.

Tong said if Tam's right, it would effectively be a departure from the "One Country, Two Systems" principle.

"It does not require people to swear allegiance to a particular government, let alone the political party behind the particular government," the executive councillor said.

Tong added that the legal requirement for election candidates is to swear allegiance to the SAR and to uphold the Basic Law. "Now what that means is not to uphold the book itself or swear allegiance to Carrie Lam or this particular administration. But to safeguard and uphold our constitutional order and political system," he said.

Asked about Tam's comments, Chief Executive Carrie Lam stuck to her oft-repeated stance that the eligibility of candidates is determined by returning officers on a case by case basis, in accordance with the law and the evidence available. But she didn't refer to the issue of opposition to one-party rule.

Another Hong Kong delegate to the NPC, Cheng Yiu-tong, also gave a similar reply, saying election officers will determine a candidate's eligibility. But he said any call for the end to one-party rule is simply “not realistic”.

Democratic Party legislator Helena Wong said Tam’s suggestion was unacceptable.

"The Chinese constitution will not have any direct effect and implication on Hong Kong and according to the Basic Law we have our own system and our freedom of speech is protected by the Basic Law," she said.

If anyone tries to use past comments by a candidate as a means of political censorship to disqualify them, they will be breaching the Basic law, Wong said.

She added that it is the aspiration of many people to see China become more democratised, so that more than one political party can take part in free elections.