The decision of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC) on Hong Kong's political reform plan adopted Sunday has drawn vocal ire among opposition groups in Hong Kong. Organizers of the Occupy Central Movement launched a rally, claiming that they were letting the central government hear the objecting voices of Hong Kong people. Among them about 20 pan-democratic lawmakers have signed a joint signature to object to the central government's decision.
Nevertheless, there are plenty of swashbuckling factors in their confrontational behavior. Hong Kong's political reform has come to a foregone conclusion. The radical opposition camp is doomed to be a paper tiger in front of Hong Kong's mainstream public opinion and the firm resolution of the central government.
These radicals could indeed incite a group of people to rally with them but they are facing a powerful will and a strong legal framework that Hong Kong must remain stable. They will definitely be called to account if they resort to illegal confrontation. And if they raise objections in a legal way, their efforts will end in vain.
Hong Kong is not Ukraine, a fact the whole international community comprehends quite well. The central government has made rather a solemn decision. If radical opposition groups fail to understand this and believe they play a dominant role in Hong Kong's political reform, then facts will give them a lesson.
Their demands run counter to the Basic Law and go too far. It has been expected that the central government would reject them. Only a minority of Hongkongers are willing to support them and confront the central government, much fewer than the number of people that constitute the social foundation for the pan-democratic camp. It is a mere illusion to drag all the pan-democrats and the whole of Hong Kong society onto their chariot.
The decision made by the NPC has demonstrated the bottom line of the central government. The Western powers will endorse Hong Kong's radical opposition groups but the publicity and degree of such endorsement will be in no way comparable with their support for the Ukrainian opposition party. Hong Kong is a society ruled by law and the force against the NPC decision is quite weak. China's national strength means the West will not easily interfere in Hong Kong's affairs.
Hong Kong's opposition groups do not have real cards in their hands despite their fierce clamor. They will understand more fully who they really are through this conflict.
Hong Kong boasts a benign legal foundation and is backed by a powerful mainland. Its SAR government enjoys perfect harmony with the central government in political reform, inevitably making a dramatic political upheaval a daydream of a minority. They should wake up now.