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Newly formed Hong Kong pro-independence party placed under legal scrutiny
HK Secretary of Justice studies whether National Party founders broke law · Another new party calls for self-determination referendum
According to the South China Morning Post, Yuen words come shortly after the People's Daily -the official newspaper of the Chinese Communist Party- published an article which claimed that the Secretary of Justice should "study in detail whether to take legal action" against the founders of the HK National Party.
The party was founded earlier this year on March 28th by a group of university students and young professionals, with Occupy Central former leader Chan Ho-tin as figurehead.
Two days after the party was unveiled, the pro-Beijing government of Hong Kong warned that independence demands go against the territory's Basic Law, and recalled that Kong Kong is an "inalienable" part of China.
The Basic Law has been Hong Kong's fundamental law since 1997, when the territory was transferred from British to Chinese hands. Autonomy should last at least until 2047, according to the agreement then reached by Beijing and London. Starting from 2047, in theory the autonomy of Hong Kong could be cancelled.
This is one of the reasons why the Scholarism group -also emerged from Occupy Central- has just established another political party, Demosisto. The new party says it will defend Hong Kong's autonomy from what they perceive as attacks by the Chinese government, and will campaign for a self-determination referendum to be called.
Over the last 20 years, political parties in Hong Kong have been divided into two main blocs. The Pan-democracy camp seeks to preserve a large autonomy for Kong Kong within China and demands the implementation of a fully-fledged democratic system, while the pro-Beijing camp supports bringing Hong Kong closer to mainland China while not being so vocal about democracy.