‘Ball is in Beijing’s court’, Hong Kong pan-democrats say after meeting with Zhang Dejiang
Pan-democrats call for more positive gestures from the central government in the wake of National People’s Congress chairman’s promise of further dialogue
Four pan-democrats were treated with rare warmth by Beijing this week; they engaged with the country’s third-highest-ranking official, Zhang Dejiang, who assured them that further dialogue would follow their meeting.
But the pan-democratic camp is now wrestling with the question of whether there will be a price to pay for such a relationship.
Forging a friendship with the central government, say analysts, could force them into a tight situation between a rock and a hard place – at risk of alienating their support base on the one hand while not yielding much from Beijing on the other.
As it is, the relationship between the central government and pan-democrats has been icy. They have been referred to by mainland officials as the “opposition camp” funded by “hostile overseas powers” eager to bring an end to China’s one-party rule.
The pan-democrats admit it would require skilful positioning to agree to a meeting with Beijing officials since their core supporters have little trust in mainland authorities.