When right to occupy met right of abode

Participation in politics comes at a price. And for Robert Chow Yung, now leading the anti-Occupy Central crusade with gusto, it may well cost him the right of abode in Britain. It all started when a woman phoned in to a radio talk show last week running down Chow's self-professed loyalty to China. He said his right to live in Britain, once acquired, could not be relinquished. But the British consulate clarified that all one needed to do was sign a form. On Monday, reporters pounced on Chow and he announced he had asked a lawyer to find out how to "absolutely" renounce that right, which he had acquired - "like buying insurance" - in the 1990s amid fears for post-handover Hong Kong. "I have forgotten where I put the documents," he added.

"No one is indispensable" goes the saying, and Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Raymond Tam Chi-yuen seems to believe it. As the city holds its breath ahead of the National People's Congress Standing Committee ruling on political reform a month from now, Tam is taking a two-week break from the government task force on the issue. It is not quite the calm before the storm. What about continuing talks between the task force and various groups, such as Occupy Central? Seems that will all have to make do without him.