HONG KONG: On their last day at work, Hong Kong’s lawmakers – the first batch chosen under Beijing’s mantra of “patriots administering Hong Kong” – posed for group pictures, celebrating a job well done after four years of opposition-free politics.
But despite their smiles, around a third of them will not seek another term in December’s election, with the self-described non-establishment figure Tik Chi-yuen being among those bowing out.
“It used to be that (the legislature) had the benefit of free expression... Now it is more uniform. There are multiple voices but they are not diverse enough,” said Tik, comparing it with his experience as a rookie lawmaker in the 1990s.
Tik and some of his fellow departing lawmakers reflect how Hong Kong no longer tolerates even mild dissent in the legislative chamber, and that attempts to change the system from within have failed, according to scholars and observers.
The city had two decades of spirited opposition politics, which took off in the final years of British colonial rule and grew into a pro-democracy coalition in the 2010s before being wiped out.
