'I'd have joined Occupy if it could work', says Exco member Arthur Li
Former education minister Arthur Li urged people to accept Beijing's decision, but said he'd have joined activists if they could change it
Executive Council member and former education minister Professor Arthur Li Kwok-cheung said he would have joined the Occupy Central campaign if it could actually force Beijing to allow open elections in the 2017 chief executive race.
Although he urged young people not to boycott classes in protest against the strict new election framework, and called on Hongkongers to accept Beijing's decisions, his remarks yesterday contrasted with the government's position that Occupy's plan to block streets was illegal.
"If the protests, Occupy Central movement or class boycotts could change Beijing's view and its stance, I would have joined it," he said. "However … we have to think whether we can achieve what we want by participating."
Li said he was concerned the political debate in the city had become polarised.
On August 31, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress laid down a restrictive framework for the election, allowing only two to three candidates and requiring that they win majority support from a 1,200-member nominating committee. That drew an angry response from pan-democrats.
Li also said a now-defunct "whistle-blower" hotline set up by anti-Occupy campaigners for the public to report class boycotts in secondary schools would do little to forge a public consensus on political reform.
It came as Facebook remarks from Diocesan Boys' School headmaster Ronnie Cheng Kay-yen went viral, warning the anti-Occupy campaigners to stay away from the school.
