Thanks to the pro-establishment lawmakers’ support, the Legislative Council on Thursday evening eventually passed this year’s government budget after voting down all 52 amendments tabled by opposition lawmakers to the budget bill, aimed at delaying its passage for as long as possible.
The passage of Appropriation Bill 2020 marked the official end of the budget impasse as well as another major setback for the opposition camp’s “scorched-earth” tactics. 

As part of their “scorched-earth” tactics, opposition legislators have tried to create a constitutional crisis by voting down the budget. But they were outvoted by the pro-establishment lawmakers

As part of their “scorched-earth” tactics, opposition legislators have tried to create a constitutional crisis by voting down the budget. But they were outvoted by the pro-establishment lawmakers.
After failing to block the budget bill, opposition lawmakers vented their anger and frustration by hurling a torrent of abuse at Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor and the central government.
Kwok Ka-ki of the Civic Party referred to the central government in a pejorative way when he accused the chief executive of “leading the wolf into the house”, allowing Beijing to “undermine ‘one country, two systems’ and Hong Kong’s high degree of autonomy”.
Nothing could be further from the truth. It is the central government that has designed the political framework for Hong Kong and accorded the city a high degree of autonomy. And the central government in Beijing, the legitimate sovereign government of China, has full jurisdiction over Hong Kong, one of its special administrative regions. This is reality, whether Kwok and his opposition peers like it or not.
The chronic frustration of Kwok and his opposition peers stems from their failure to recognize Beijing’s power and rights over Hong Kong. They have been under the illusion that they can run Hong Kong the way they want without giving due consideration to Beijing’s interests, which are essentially national interests, as long as they have secured strong enough support from their foreign patrons, particularly in the US and UK. 
But they are to be reminded that Beijing has never succumbed to external pressure no matter what was at stake, as history has amply shown. Any maneuvers to leverage foreign pressure will prove to be futile. An invitation for foreign intervention in Hong Kong affairs with sanction threats would attract political backlash as it would hurt the overall interests of Hong Kong people.
“Scorched-earth” tactics is a one-way road leading to self-destruction. Members of the opposition camp know very well they aren’t really ready for that!