'Uprising' chant reduced to a farce

First, the Civic Party and League of Social Democrats team used the term "referendum" to goad their opponents on the pro-establishment side.

Now the coalition has brought out the heavy artillery, unveiling the word "uprising." It's scary.

Last Thursday, the Civic-league dissidents took out advertisements in some newspapers, declaring their five- district resignation from the legislature not only a referendum, but a revolt, using the banner "Five-district Referendum, People's Uprising."

Arguably, they're going out of the way to compare their actions to a people's uprising that literally means overthrowing the government - historically through an armed revolution.

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Under such a scenario, the defensive half is losing interest in playing the game, as the pro-establishment side is walking away to protest the Civic-league's complete disregard for the ground rules, or game sportsmanship.

Previously, the Liberal Party had always been the players most eager to engage in a robust clash. Now the Liberal players - most notably party boss James Tien Pei-chun, and his brother Michael Tien Puk-sun - have reversed their previous course and decided not to enter the fray.

Party chairwoman Miriam Lau Kin- yee explained on Saturday both the Civic Party and the league had simply gone too far in threatening the bedrock of "one country, two systems" upon which Hong Kong rests. She is concerned that if the Liberals took part in the event, it would be tantamount to consenting to the new game rules.

The spotlight is now shining squarely on the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong - to see whether it's going to lead the rest of its teammates off the playing turf.

Though both the DAB and Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions will reserve their decisions until after the five Civic-league lawmakers hand in their resignations tomorrow - effective on Friday - it's a foregone conclusion that both will boycott the by-elections.

Former legislator Chan Yuen-han, for example, broke her silence yesterday to say she will hang up her boots for the time being.

What will the game be like without the participation of the DAB and other members of the pro-establishment side? Remember, it takes two to tango.

The banana-throwing "Mad Dog" Raymond Wong Yuk-man, and his top henchman "Long Hair" Leung Kwok- hung will certainly sound the battle cry to incite the other half - taunting them with names such as "coward," "chicken," "faint-hearted," and so on.

On the surface, it might appear the pro-establishment side is retreating, but it could also be a strategic way of striking back at the Civic-league half without taking the field.

The stakes are higher for the Civic- league team than for the DAB and others in the pro-establishment camp. The risk is growing because the event is becoming too high-sounding.

In the end, rather than scoring, the Civic Party and league could fall down flat, with mud on their faces.