Hong Kong's 19 pan-democratic politicians presented a united front Monday warning of a mass resignation if China disqualifies four colleagues for filibustering in the city's legislative assembly.
"The mass resignation is a way to reflect our unity while also protesting against the tyranny of the central government," Wu Chi-wai, convener of an alliance of pro-democracy lawmakers, told reporters.
The Civic Party's Alvin Yeung Ngok-kiu, Dennis Kwok and Kwok Ka-ki, as well as Kenneth Leung of the Professionals Guild, are the four politicians.
"United we stand," Yeung told his Twitter followers after rumors that the issue would be brought before the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC) Nov. 10 and Nov. 11.
Tam Yiu-chung, Hong Kong's sole NPC delegate, will discuss the matter at a special unscheduled two-day session of the congress, which is chaired by Xi Jinping and represents the highest branch of Chinese state power.
In a news conference before his departure for Beijing, Tam said "[the pan-democrats'] behavior is inappropriate" but did not comment on how the government will respond.
"We expect that the Standing Committee will approve the disqualification of many democratic Legislative Council members," members of the Democratic Party wrote in an open letter to constituents.
Calling for a quorum - counting members in the assembly to ensure there are enough people voting - is a popular device amongst Hong Kong's pan-democratic politicians to delay the passage of bills.
This, along with more conventional filibuster strategies including extended speaking times, have drawn the ire of pro-establishment officials.
"If it is purely to delay the meeting by repeatedly counting the number of people, it will hinder the process of parliament," NPC representative Tam said.
Since the start of the LegCo session in October, the pan-democrats have successfully forced three meetings to be adjourned - a feat that will likely not be repeated if the four lawmakers are disqualified.
Without them, the legislature's pan-democrat number will shrink to 15, bringing the total number of reliable opposition votes to 17 including centrist Pierre Chan Pui-yiu and localist Cheng Chung-tai.
In contrast, the pro-establishment camp has more than 40 seats.
