New pro-independence group falls at the first hurdle as their application is rejected for “political reasons”
Chan Ho-tin launched the Hong Kong National Party on Sunday.A newly-founded political party supporting independence had its registration rejected for political reasons. Speaking to Young Post yesterday, Hong Kong National Party’s spokeswoman said the Companies Registry did not register the party. “We tried to register at the Companies Registry using the name ‘Hong Kong National Party’, but they didn’t do so. Political reasons was what they told us,” she said.
On Sunday, former Occupy Central activist Chan Ho-tin launched a party that wants to get rid of the Basic Law, the city’s mini-constitution. The National Party will also use “whatever effective means” available to fight for independence, including sending candidates to the Legislative Council elections in September and working with other pro-independence localist groups.
“Staging marches or shouting slogans is obviously useless now. We would support violence if it gets us heard,” said Chan at a press conference on Monday. He claimed the party was funded by its 50-plus members, mostly university students and young activists. The party is at the extreme end of Hong Kong’s rising interest in localism, which was boosted by localist candidate Edward Leung Tin-kei’s strong performance in last month’s Legco by-election.
Leung of the localist group Hong Kong Indigenous welcomed Chan’s party and hoped to have closer co-operation.
But a pro-establishment figure has warned against taking the latest group too lightly. Lau Nai-keung, a member of the Basic Law Committee, said: “Perhaps the Hong Kong government has been too tolerant about such lousy calls for independence. It is flatly against the Basic Law. I am not sure why we should let it exist.”