Veteran Hong Kong politician Wu Chi-wai says he is prepared to take the blame, regardless of the results of a public survey that will decide the fate of 15 pro-democracy lawmakers in the next one year.

Those 15 lawmakers, including Wu, have pledged to abide by the results of the Sept. 21 opinion poll on whether to continue serving in the Legislative Council, after the National People’s Congress Standing Committee, the apex of Chinese politics, approved the city government’s decision to push back the legislature’s election for at least one year from September.

The government’s offer of an extended term has divided the pro-democracy camp and its supporters. Those inclined to remain say they have a duty to block controversial government proposals, while the naysayers want the camp’s lawmakers to collectively boycott the extended term, which they say lacks a constitutional mandate.

Wu, who was chairperson of the Democratic Party, said the survey would give a way out of the dilemma after more than a month of fierce debates that have caused a rift in the bloc. He promised to take the blame no matter what the outcome was.

“We’ve already come to terms with it. This is a free society and I can say that we are all doing this with a clear conscience,” Wu said in an interview with public broadcaster RTHK on Saturday.

The 15 incumbents comprise seven lawmakers from the Democratic Party, five from the Civic Party, Council Front lawmaker Claudia Mo, Labour Party’s Fernando Cheung and social welfare sector representative Shiu Ka-chun. The other seven pro-democracy legislators are either undecided or have said they would not serve the extended term.

Wu said he hoped to set up a systematic method of using public opinion polls to settle differences in future debates within the bloc. “If we put controversial matters to a vote, at least we can debate and exchange views, and understand what direction pro-democracy supporters think we should take.”

He believed this method would help bridge the gap between traditional pan-democrats and localists in the legislature.

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