Many people believed that the pan-democratic camp in Hong Kong upholds the rule of law and respects civilization, and at the very least performs much better than the protesters in Ukraine. Nonetheless, the "referendum" carried out by the radical opposition members that launched the Occupy Central movement, as well as their recent behavior and the future plans they have announced, reveal that they are no more qualified than those who initiated the color revolutions. 

The most radical opposition groups of Hong Kong have already pushed themselves to the opposite of the rule of law. The so-called referendum lacks any constitutional basis and therefore engaging in a fierce political struggle with its results runs counter to the Basic Law and the existing legal system in Hong Kong.

Radical opposition groups have kept sowing contrary sentiments and even hatred, dealing a heavy blow to the social foundation of Hong Kong's democratic development. As everyone knows, a highly split society will fail to pursue genuine democracy.

The capacity to achieve a common consensus on major issues constitutes the cornerstone of a democratic society. However, Hong Kong opposition groups have become enamored with illegal confrontations in a society governed by law.

They are sparing no efforts to convert more and more Hongkongers to their cause to rival the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region's government and the central government. They have put on various postures to this end, including the electronic ballot on reform plans for the 2017 chief executive election. Though apparently fabricated, the figures displayed by the poll are described as something holy by these radical members, who only seek immediate political effects to obtain a bargaining chip to confront Beijing.

Myriad opposition forces in Kiev and later in eastern Ukraine as well as in Bangkok all did the same thing. They made demands that seemed quite democratic at first glance, but which were launched in a barbarous way totally incompatible with a democratic society, ultimately leading to rather intense rivalry among different forces. The radicals in Hong Kong are dragging Hong Kong to a murky future, consciously or unconsciously.

Of course, China is not Ukraine and Hong Kong is unlikely to become another Kiev or Donetsk. However, it is the power of Beijing that ensures its prosperity and stable political development.

Hong Kong is not a place brimming with dramas. The opposition groups urgently need to improve their political insight to become aware of what they can and can't do.

They should refrain from indiscretion and adopt a realistic attitude instead of fancying themselves as just and righteous people.