Beijing’s top parliamentary body unanimously passed a ruling today which effectively banned lawmakers-elect Baggio Leung and Yau Wai-ching from taking office.
Leung and Yau were criticised by central government and pro-Beijing lawmakers after they used a derogatory wartime slur while referring to China and displayed a banner reading “Hong Kong is Not China” during their swearing-in ceremony last month.
The standing committee of the National People’s Congress deemed that Hong Kong legislators who were not “sincere and solemn” while being sworn in would be disqualified from office and forbidden from retaking their oaths.
Lawmakers must pledge allegiance to Hong Kong as a “Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China”, Deputy Secretary General of the NPC Li Fei said in a press conference, as doing otherwise would violate the city’s mini constitution.
Article 104 of the Basic Law states that lawmakers must, “in accordance with law”, “swear allegiance to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China”.
Li also criticised the notion of “national self-determination”, equating its advocates to secessionists.
Whether pro-democracy lawmaker Lau Siu-lai – who successfully retook her oath after reading it in slow-motion – will be subjected to a judicial review remains to be seen.
Thousands of people took to the streets yesterday to protest Beijing’s interpretation of the Basic Law, in a demonstration reminiscent of the mass Occupy rallies of 2014.
Civilians and police faced off for almost six hours in the Western District yesterday evening. Police had “no alternatives” but to use batons and pepper spray on protesters, the government said in a press release.
Four people were arrested and two police officers were injured by bricks thrown by protesters, authorities said.
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