The Hong Kong Legislative Council members' oath-taking controversy was a series of events surrounding the
oaths of office
An oath of office is an oath or affirmation a person takes before assuming the duties of an office, usually a position in government or within a religious body, although such oaths are sometimes required of officers of other organizations. Such ...
of a dozen
pro-democracy
Democratization, or democratisation, is the transition to a more democratic political regime, including substantive political changes moving in a democratic direction. It may be a hybrid regime in transition from an authoritarian regime to a full ...
and
localist
Localism describes a range of political philosophies which prioritize the local. Generally, localism supports local production and consumption of goods, local control of government, and promotion of local history, local culture and local identi ...
members-elect of the
Legislative Council of Hong Kong
The Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (LegCo) is the unicameral legislature of Hong Kong. It sits under China's " one country, two systems" constitutional arrangement, and is the power centre of Hong Kong ...
(LegCo) on 12 October 2016 which have resulted in the disqualification of six members,
Sixtus "Baggio" Leung and
Yau Wai-ching
Regine Yau Wai-ching (; born 6 May 1991) is a Hong Kong former politician and former member of the localist group Youngspiration. She was elected to the Legislative Council of Hong Kong as a member for Kowloon West in the 2016 Legislative C ...
of
Youngspiration
Youngspiration is a localist political party in Hong Kong founded in 2015. It emerged after the 2014 Hong Kong protests (often dubbed as the "Umbrella Revolution") with an agenda of protection of Hong Kong people's interests and culture against ...
, who were unseated by the court on 15 November 2016, and
Leung Kwok-hung
Leung Kwok-hung ( zh, t=梁國雄; born 27 March 1956), also known by his nickname "Long Hair" (), is a Hong Kong politician and social activist. He was a member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong, Legislative Council, representing the N ...
,
Nathan Law
Nathan Law Kwun-chung ( zh, link=no, t=羅冠聰; born 13 July 1993) is an activist and politician from Hong Kong. As a former student leader, he has been chairman of the Representative Council of the Lingnan University Students' Union (LUSU ...
,
Yiu Chung-yim
Edward Yiu Chung-yim (; born 19 July 1964) is a Hong Kong academic, scholar and former politician who is currently an associate professor of property at the University of Auckland Business School. He is a former member of the Legislative Council ...
and
Lau Siu-lai
Lau Siu-lai (; born 3 August 1976) is a Hong Kong educator, academic, activist, and politician. She is a sociology lecturer at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University's Hong Kong Community College and the founder of Democracy Groundwork and Age o ...
on 14 July 2017.
The pro-democracy members-elect have used the oath-taking ceremonies at each inaugural meeting as a platform of protest since 2004, during which they have held objects or shouted slogans. On 12 October 2016, the inaugural meeting of the
6th Legislative Council, a dozen of members-elect used the occasion to protest, highlighted by the
pro-independence Youngspiration legislators, Sixtus Leung and Yau Wai-ching, who asserted "as a member of the Legislative Council, I shall pay earnest efforts in keeping guard over the interests of the Hong Kong nation," displayed a "Hong Kong is not China" banner, and mispronounced "People's Republic of China" as "people's re-fucking of Chee-na". As a result, the oaths of the two, as well as that of Yiu Chung-yim, who also inserted his own words, were invalidated by the LegCo secretary-general
Kenneth Chen
Kenneth Chen Wei-on, is the current Secretary General of the Secretariat of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong. He was appointed as the Undersecretary for education in 2008.
Education
Chen attended Diocesan Boys' School from 1977 to 1982, a ...
and the oath of Lau Siu-lai, who spent about ten minutes reading the 80-word oath in extreme slow motion, was invalidated by the LegCo President
Andrew Leung
Andrew Leung Kwan-yuen (; born 24 February 1951) is a Hong Kong politician who is the current President of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong (Legco), representing the Industrial (First) functional constituency. From October 2012 to October ...
.
The controversy escalated when
Chief Executive
A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...
Leung Chun-ying
Leung Chun-ying (; born 12 August 1954), also known as CY Leung, is a Hong Kong politician and chartered surveyor, who has served as vice-chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference since Mar ...
and
Secretary for Justice
A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...
Rimsky Yuen
Rimsky Yuen Kwok-keung (; born 17 June 1964) is a barrister who served as the third Secretary for Justice of Hong Kong from 2012 to 2018.
He was the chairman of the Hong Kong Bar Association from 2007 to 2010, as well as a member of the Guang ...
, on 18 October, unprecedentedly launched a judicial review seeking the disqualification of Sixtus Leung and Yau Wai-ching. This was followed by the walkout staged by
pro-Beijing
The pro-Beijing camp, pro-establishment camp, pro-government camp or pro-China camp refers to a political alignment in Hong Kong which generally supports the policies of the Beijing central government and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) t ...
legislators to force
adjournment
In parliamentary procedure, an adjournment ends a meeting. It could be done using a motion to adjourn.
A time for another meeting could be set using the motion to fix the time to which to adjourn. This motion establishes an adjourned meeting.
...
and block the pair and Lau Siu-lai from retaking their oaths on the following day after Yiu Chung-yim had retaken his oath. Lau Siu-lai eventually retook her oath on 2 November.
On 7 November 2016, despite the pan-democrats' opposition, the
National People's Congress Standing Committee
The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China (NPCSC) is the permanent body of the National People's Congress (NPC) of the People's Republic of China (PRC), which is the highest organ of state po ...
(NPCSC) controversially interpreted Article 104 of the
Basic Law of Hong Kong
The Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China is a national law of China that serves as the organic law for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR). Comprising nine chapters, 160 ar ...
to "clarify" the requirements that the legislators need to swear allegiance to Hong Kong as part of China when they take office, stating that a person "who intentionally reads out words which do not accord with the wording of the oath prescribed by law, or takes the oath in a manner which is not sincere or not solemn" should be barred from taking their public office and cannot retake the oath. As a consequence, the court disqualified Sixtus Leung and Yau Wai-ching on 15 November. The oaths of a dozen of pro-democracy legislators and a few pro-Beijing legislators were also under legal challenges.
On 2 December 2016, the government launched a second legal action against four more pro-democracy legislators, Leung Kwok-hung of the
League of Social Democrats
The League of Social Democrats (LSD) is a social democratic party in Hong Kong. Chaired by Chan Po-ying, wife of Leung Kwok-hung, it positions itself as the radical wing of the pro-democracy camp (Hong Kong), pro-democracy camp and stresses on ...
, Nathan Law of
Demosistō
Demosisto (stylised Demosistō) () was a pro-democracy political organisation established on 10 April 2016 as a political party. It was led by Joshua Wong and Agnes Chow – former leaders of Scholarism, along with Nathan Law, former secreta ...
, Yiu Chung-yim and Lau Siu-lai, over their manners at the oath-taking ceremony. As a result, the four legislators were disqualified by the court on 14 July 2017.
Background
According to Article 104 of the
Basic Law of Hong Kong
The Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China is a national law of China that serves as the organic law for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR). Comprising nine chapters, 160 ar ...
, members of the Legislative Council must swear to uphold the Basic Law and swear allegiance to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China. According to the Oaths and Declarations Ordinance, the Legislative Council oath is:
The
oath of office
An oath of office is an oath or affirmation a person takes before assuming the duties of an office, usually a position in government or within a religious body, although such oaths are sometimes required of officers of other organizations. Such ...
ceremony of the
Legislative Council of Hong Kong
The Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (LegCo) is the unicameral legislature of Hong Kong. It sits under China's " one country, two systems" constitutional arrangement, and is the power centre of Hong Kong ...
(LegCo) has been the platform of protest of some pro-democracy legislators since 2004, when radical democrat legislator
Leung Kwok-hung
Leung Kwok-hung ( zh, t=梁國雄; born 27 March 1956), also known by his nickname "Long Hair" (), is a Hong Kong politician and social activist. He was a member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong, Legislative Council, representing the N ...
shouted the slogan "Long live democracy! Long live the people!" before and after delivering the oath in full at the inaugural meeting of the
3rd Legislative Council; Leung's oath at that time was validated by the clerk of the Legislative Council Ricky Fung. Leung kept his practice of protesting at the each oath-taking ceremony and this practice was followed by some other pan-democrats.
In 2012,
People Power
"People Power" is a political term denoting the populist driving force of any social movement which invokes the authority of grassroots opinion and willpower, usually in opposition to that of conventionally organised corporate or political for ...
legislator
Wong Yuk-man
Raymond Wong Yuk-man (; born 1 October 1951) is a Hong Kong communist, pro-china, author, current affairs commentator and radio host. He is a former member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong (LegCo), representing the geographical constitue ...
skipped key words in the oath by coughing at strategic moments when taking the oath and his oath was invalidated by LegCo President
Jasper Tsang
Jasper Tsang Yok-sing ( zh, t=曾鈺成; born 17 May 1947) is a Hong Kong politician. He is the founding member of the largest pro-Beijing party the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB) from 1992 to 2003 and ...
. He was allowed to retake his oath during the next meeting. Even though he read out part of his second oath in a different tone of voice and shouted "Down with the Hong Kong communist regime, down with
Leung Chun-ying
Leung Chun-ying (; born 12 August 1954), also known as CY Leung, is a Hong Kong politician and chartered surveyor, who has served as vice-chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference since Mar ...
" after completing the oath, and was challenged by
pro-Beijing
The pro-Beijing camp, pro-establishment camp, pro-government camp or pro-China camp refers to a political alignment in Hong Kong which generally supports the policies of the Beijing central government and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) t ...
legislator
Paul Tse
Paul Tse Wai-chun, JP (, born 1959) is a Hong Kong solicitor, who claims himself as the "Superman of Law". He also owns a small travel agency and was elected to the Legislative Council of Hong Kong for the tourism functional constituency in ...
for taking the oath in this way, the oath was accepted by the President.
In the
2016 Legislative Council election held on 4 September 2016, six
localist
Localism describes a range of political philosophies which prioritize the local. Generally, localism supports local production and consumption of goods, local control of government, and promotion of local history, local culture and local identi ...
candidates with different agendas striving for the "
self-determination
The right of a people to self-determination is a cardinal principle in modern international law (commonly regarded as a ''jus cogens'' rule), binding, as such, on the United Nations as authoritative interpretation of the Charter's norms. It stat ...
" of Hong Kong were elected with 19 percent of the total votes even though the
Electoral Affairs Commission
The Electoral Affairs Commission (EAC) is the body, established under the Electoral Affairs Commission Ordinance, that oversees electoral matters in Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Adminis ...
(EAC) had made the unprecedented move
to disqualify six other localist nominees (including
Hong Kong Indigenous
Hong Kong Indigenous is a localist political group established in 2015. It is known for its hardline localist stances and militant methods of protesting. It has been actively involved in protests and engaged into violent clashes with police, ...
'
Edward Leung
Edward Leung Tin-kei ( zh, t=梁天琦; born 2 June 1991) is a Hong Kong politician and activist. He is the former spokesperson of Hong Kong Indigenous, a localist group. He advocates Hong Kong independence, and coined the slogan "Liberate ...
, who ran in the February's
New Territories East by-election) as candidates of the election on the grounds that they supported
Hong Kong independence
Hong Kong independence is a political movement that advocates the establishment of Hong Kong as an independent sovereign state. Hong Kong is one of two Special administrative regions of China (SAR) which enjoys a certain degree of autonomy ...
.
Leung campaigned for
Youngspiration
Youngspiration is a localist political party in Hong Kong founded in 2015. It emerged after the 2014 Hong Kong protests (often dubbed as the "Umbrella Revolution") with an agenda of protection of Hong Kong people's interests and culture against ...
's
Sixtus Leung
Sixtus "Baggio" Leung Chung-hang (; born 7 August 1986) is a Hong Kong activist and politician. He is the convenor of Youngspiration, a localist political group in Hong Kong that leans towards Hong Kong independence, and is also leader and sp ...
, 30, who stood in the same constituency as a "back up" plan. Leung was duly elected with 37,997 votes. His party colleague,
Yau Wai-ching
Regine Yau Wai-ching (; born 6 May 1991) is a Hong Kong former politician and former member of the localist group Youngspiration. She was elected to the Legislative Council of Hong Kong as a member for Kowloon West in the 2016 Legislative C ...
, 25, also won the last seat in
Kowloon West
Kowloon West is the western part of Kowloon, covering the Yau Tsim Mong and Sham Shui Po District, with Kowloon City District occasionally included.
History
The boundary of Kowloon West is not strictly defined and hence varies. While traditio ...
with 20,643 votes, becoming the youngest female to be elected to the legislature.
Course of events
Oaths invalidated
On 11 October 2016, a day before the inaugural session of the
6th Legislative Council, the government issued a statement warning the members-elect of the Legislative Council to swear to uphold the
Basic Law and swear allegiance to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China as required by the Article 104 of the Basic Law.
On 12 October 2016, five localist and eight pro-democrat legislators used the oath-taking ceremony as a platform of protest as they had in the previous sessions, by either shouting slogans or making extra statements before or after taking their oaths.
Leung Kwok-hung
Leung Kwok-hung ( zh, t=梁國雄; born 27 March 1956), also known by his nickname "Long Hair" (), is a Hong Kong politician and social activist. He was a member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong, Legislative Council, representing the N ...
of the
League of Social Democrats
The League of Social Democrats (LSD) is a social democratic party in Hong Kong. Chaired by Chan Po-ying, wife of Leung Kwok-hung, it positions itself as the radical wing of the pro-democracy camp (Hong Kong), pro-democracy camp and stresses on ...
(LSD), who had used the oath-taking ceremony as a platform of protest since 2004, held a yellow umbrella symbolising the
Umbrella Revolution
A series of sit-in street protests, often called the Umbrella Revolution and sometimes used interchangeably with Umbrella Movement, or Occupy Movement, occurred in Hong Kong from 26 September to 15 December 2014.
The protests began after th ...
with many words thereon, including "ending
one-party rule
A one-party state, single-party state, one-party system, or single-party system is a type of sovereign state in which only one political party has the right to form the government, usually based on the existing constitution. All other parties ...
", and a paper board showing the words "
NPC 831 decision
The Decision of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress on Issues Relating to the Selection of the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region by Universal Suffrage and on the Method for Forming the Legislati ...
" and a cross on it. He paused many times while reading the oath and tore a piece of paper with the words "NPC 831 decision". Newcomers such as
Nathan Law
Nathan Law Kwun-chung ( zh, link=no, t=羅冠聰; born 13 July 1993) is an activist and politician from Hong Kong. As a former student leader, he has been chairman of the Representative Council of the Lingnan University Students' Union (LUSU ...
of
Demosistō
Demosisto (stylised Demosistō) () was a pro-democracy political organisation established on 10 April 2016 as a political party. It was led by Joshua Wong and Agnes Chow – former leaders of Scholarism, along with Nathan Law, former secreta ...
had raised his tone when swearing allegiance to China, sounding like he was asking a question, while
Lau Siu-lai
Lau Siu-lai (; born 3 August 1976) is a Hong Kong educator, academic, activist, and politician. She is a sociology lecturer at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University's Hong Kong Community College and the founder of Democracy Groundwork and Age o ...
paused for six seconds in between every word in order to, she said, make the oath meaningless.
However, the oaths of the independent pan-democrat
Yiu Chung-yim
Edward Yiu Chung-yim (; born 19 July 1964) is a Hong Kong academic, scholar and former politician who is currently an associate professor of property at the University of Auckland Business School. He is a former member of the Legislative Council ...
, Youngspiration's Sixtus Leung and Yau Wai-ching were invalidated by LegCo secretary-general
Kenneth Chen
Kenneth Chen Wei-on, is the current Secretary General of the Secretariat of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong. He was appointed as the Undersecretary for education in 2008.
Education
Chen attended Diocesan Boys' School from 1977 to 1982, a ...
. Yiu added phrases such as "universal suffrage" immediately after his oath. Leung and Yau pledged allegiance to the "Hong Kong nation" before they took the oath while displaying a banner that read "Hong Kong is not China". They also pronounced "People's Republic of China" as "people's re-fucking of Chee-na", a variation of the term
Shina
Shina may refer to:
* Shina language, an Indo-Aryan language spoken in Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan
* Shina people, a Dardic ethnic group in Gilgit Baltistan, Pakistan
People named Shina
* Shina Matsudo (born 1973), Japanese freestyle swimmer
* ...
, which was used by Japan to refer to China and was deemed derogatory since the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, three times.
The three oaths were declared invalid, with the effect that the trio could not vote in the subsequent election of the
LegCo President, in which
Andrew Leung
Andrew Leung Kwan-yuen (; born 24 February 1951) is a Hong Kong politician who is the current President of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong (Legco), representing the Industrial (First) functional constituency. From October 2012 to October ...
of the
Business and Professionals Alliance for Hong Kong
The Business and Professionals Alliance for Hong Kong (BPA) is a pro-business pro-Beijing political party in Hong Kong. Chaired by Lo Wai-kwok, the party is currently the second-largest party in the Legislative Council of Hong Kong, holding eigh ...
(BPA) was controversially elected.
Condemnation
The Hong Kong SAR government denounced the duo for modifying their oaths and hurting the feelings of Chinese people, labelling their actions as "in violation of the dignity expected of LegCo members, or even spoke or acted in an offensive manner that harmed the feelings of our compatriots."
Chief Executive
A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...
Leung Chun-ying
Leung Chun-ying (; born 12 August 1954), also known as CY Leung, is a Hong Kong politician and chartered surveyor, who has served as vice-chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference since Mar ...
said many people were "angry and disappointed" over the oath-taking process. "This seriously affects the feelings between Hong Kong and mainland people," he added. China's state media ''
Xinhua
Xinhua News Agency (English pronunciation: )J. C. Wells: Longman Pronunciation Dictionary, 3rd ed., for both British and American English, or New China News Agency, is the official state news agency of the People's Republic of China. Xinhua ...
'' quoted a "person-in-charge" of the
Central People's Government's Liaison Office in Hong Kong on 14 October as expressing "strong anger and condemnation" over the two legislators' "despicable words and actions" which "has challenged the nation's dignity and severely
hurt the feelings of all Chinese people and overseas Chinese, including Hong Kong compatriots."
Sixtus Leung blamed his "
Ap Lei Chau
Ap Lei Chau or Aberdeen Island is an List of islands and peninsulas of Hong Kong, island of Hong Kong, located off Hong Kong Island next to Aberdeen Harbour, Hong Kong, Aberdeen Harbour and Aberdeen Channel. It has an area of after land recl ...
accent" as the reason of his pronunciation of "China" as "Chee-na" and the alleged profanity.
He also argued that the word "Chee-na" is not offensive as "Dr
Sun Yat-sen
Sun Yat-sen (; also known by several other names; 12 November 1866 – 12 March 1925)Singtao daily. Saturday edition. 23 October 2010. section A18. Sun Yat-sen Xinhai revolution 100th anniversary edition . was a Chinese politician who serve ...
used the term 'Chee-na' when he was lobbying overseas." He also argued that the "Hong Kong is not China" slogan was a factual statement, "just like 'apple is not orange'."
His action and explanation were attacked in an opinion article written for ''
South China Morning Post
The ''South China Morning Post'' (''SCMP''), with its Sunday edition, the ''Sunday Morning Post'', is a Hong Kong-based English-language newspaper owned by Alibaba Group. Founded in 1903 by Tse Tsan-tai and Alfred Cunningham, it has remained ...
'' as "kindergarten-like". A group of Ap Lei Chau residents issued a joint statement rejecting his excuse, saying that "
ixtusLeung Chung-hang's terrible action has made those of us who were born and bred in Ap Lei Chau angry."
On the other hand, secretary-general Kenneth Chen's decision to invalidate the three legislators' oaths was questioned. "Secretary-general ruled the oaths as invalid without consulting legal advice,"
Lau Siu-lai
Lau Siu-lai (; born 3 August 1976) is a Hong Kong educator, academic, activist, and politician. She is a sociology lecturer at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University's Hong Kong Community College and the founder of Democracy Groundwork and Age o ...
, elected on her platform for self-determination, said. "It was an unjust decision and the subsequent meeting, in which the president was elected, was therefore unlawful."
The
pro-Beijing camp
The pro-Beijing camp, pro-establishment camp, pro-government camp or pro-China camp refers to a political alignment in Hong Kong which generally supports the policies of the Beijing central government and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) t ...
, on the other hand, sent a petition to the LegCo president asking him to also invalidate the oaths of Nathan Law and Lau Siu-lai. Lau's oath was later invalidated by President Andrew Leung on 18 October along with that of pro-Beijing
(DAB) legislator
Wong Ting-kwong
Wong Ting-kwong, GBS (, born 12 September 1949, Hong Kong) is a former member of Legislative Council of Hong Kong (Legco), representing import and export industry in functional constituencies seats.
He is a businessman, honorary president of th ...
(who missed the words "Hong Kong" when reading the oath) after Leung consulted lawyers. The five legislators would be allowed to retake their oaths at the next meeting on 19 October.
On 17 October, Sixtus Leung said he and Yau Wai-ching would consider compromising by retaking their oaths properly on the next meeting on 19 October to keep their seats, but both insisted they had done nothing wrong and brushed off mounting calls for an apology and their resignation, as well as threats of legal action against them. They claimed that the word "Chee-na" was referring to the regime but not to the people or culture.
Various pro-Beijing and Beijing-friendly organisations ran more than a dozen adverts in local newspapers, urging the duo to apologise or even resign, including one statement issued by more than 200 historians and educators, including former chief curator of the
Hong Kong History Museum
The Hong Kong Museum of History is a museum that preserves Hong Kong's historical and cultural heritage. It is located next to the Hong Kong Science Museum, in Tsim Sha Tsui East, Kowloon, Hong Kong.
The collections of the museum encompass ...
Joseph Ting Sun-pao.
Government's legal action
On 18 October night, just hours before the next LegCo meeting, the Hong Kong government took the unprecedented step of mounting a legal challenge to disqualify two Youngspiration legislators on grounds that their actions in the oath-taking process had contravened the Basic Law. Johnny Mok Shiu-luen,
SC, representing Chief Executive
Leung Chun-ying
Leung Chun-ying (; born 12 August 1954), also known as CY Leung, is a Hong Kong politician and chartered surveyor, who has served as vice-chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference since Mar ...
and
Secretary for Justice
A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...
Rimsky Yuen
Rimsky Yuen Kwok-keung (; born 17 June 1964) is a barrister who served as the third Secretary for Justice of Hong Kong from 2012 to 2018.
He was the chairman of the Hong Kong Bar Association from 2007 to 2010, as well as a member of the Guang ...
accused the duo of "sending a message to the world and also to the public that we can function as a member of LegCo without pledging allegiance to the HKSAR of the People's Republic of China," Mok said. Jat Sew-tong, SC, acting for LegCo President Andrew Leung argued that the government's move was a "serious deprivation of the constitutional rights" of the two legislators-elect. Justice Thomas Au Hing-cheung allowed the government's application for a judicial review, but denied the government an interim injunction to bar the pair from retaking their oaths on the next meeting. The hearing on the application was set for 3 November.
The pan-democracy camp accused Leung Chun-ying of "ruining the
separation of powers
Separation of powers refers to the division of a state's government into branches, each with separate, independent powers and responsibilities, so that the powers of one branch are not in conflict with those of the other branches. The typic ...
" by inviting the courts to intervene in LegCo's domestic affairs. "The Chief executive pays no respect to the dignity and the independence of our legislature,"
Civic Party
The Civic Party (CP) is a pro-democracy liberal political party in Hong Kong. It is currently chaired by barrister Alan Leong.
The party was formed in 2006 on the basis of the Basic Law Article 45 Concern Group, which was derived from the B ...
legislator for
Legal constituency Dennis Kwok
Dennis Kwok Wing-hang (; born 15 April 1978) is a former member of the Hong Kong Legislative Council having represented the Legal functional constituency from 2012 to 2020 and a founding member of Civic Party. In the Legislative Council, he w ...
said.
Rita Fan
Rita Fan Hsu Lai-tai (; ' Hsu; ''born'' Hsu Ching-li; born 20 September 1945) is a senior Hong Kong politician. She was the first President of the Hong Kong SAR Legislative Council from 1998 to 2008 and a member of the Standing Committee of ...
, Hong Kong delegate to the
Standing Committee of the National People's Congress
The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China (NPCSC) is the permanent body of the National People's Congress (NPC) of the People's Republic of China (PRC), which is the highest organ of state po ...
and
Maria Tam
Maria Tam Wai-chu (; born 2 November 1945) is a senior Hong Kong politician and lawyer. She is a member of the Committee for the Basic Law of the National People's Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC) since 1997 and the chairman of the Operati ...
, member of the Basic Law Committee under the Standing Committee slammed the pan-democrats back, denying the existence of the separation of powers in the Basic Law. Fan said the Basic Law "makes no mention" of separation of powers, while Tam said separation of powers was not how Hong Kong's political structure was defined.
Pro-Beijing camp's walkout
Paul Tse
Paul Tse Wai-chun, JP (, born 1959) is a Hong Kong solicitor, who claims himself as the "Superman of Law". He also owns a small travel agency and was elected to the Legislative Council of Hong Kong for the tourism functional constituency in ...
, a pro-Beijing independent legislator suggested staging a walkout to force
adjournment
In parliamentary procedure, an adjournment ends a meeting. It could be done using a motion to adjourn.
A time for another meeting could be set using the motion to fix the time to which to adjourn. This motion establishes an adjourned meeting.
...
and block the two Youngspiration legislators from retaking their oaths if they did not apologise. Four pro-Beijing lawmakers, including
Holden Chow
Holden Chow Ho-ding (; born 7 June 1979) is a Hong Kong solicitor and politician. He is vice-chairman of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB), the largest pro-Beijing camp, pro-Beijing party in Hong Kong, ...
and
Priscilla Leung
Priscilla Leung Mei-fun (; born 18 November 1960, Hong Kong) is a barrister and Hong Kong Legislative Councillor, representing the Election Committee since 2022. She previously represented the Kowloon West constituency from 2008 to 2021. She ...
, disagreed, saying a forced adjournment would be damaging to LegCo. However, after the court's ruling, the pro-Beijing camp decided to stage the walkout at the second meeting of the Legislative Council on 19 October after Wong Ting-kwong and Yiu Chung-yim retook their oaths. Sixtus Leung, Yau Wai-ching, as well as Lau Siu-lai, who were supposed to retake the oath after Yiu, were unable to do so.
New People's Party chairwoman
Regina Ip
Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee (; ' Lau; born 24 August 1950) is a Chinese politician. She is currently the Convenor of the Executive Council (ExCo) and a member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong (LegCo), as well as the founder and current chair ...
denied that the pro-Beijing camp and the government were buying time, although some legislators admitted that the administration's judicial review had indeed prompted them to take the step. She was quoted as arguing that such a move would cost them public support, "but why couldn't we do something when even the government has made such a move? We do not want to appear feebler than the administration".
LegCo President Andrew Leung said it was "unfortunate" his colleagues chose to walk out and that he had no choice but to adjourn the meeting.
After the walkout, as pro-Beijing lawmakers met the media, explaining the rationale behind their action, radical democrat legislator "Long Hair"
Leung Kwok-hung
Leung Kwok-hung ( zh, t=梁國雄; born 27 March 1956), also known by his nickname "Long Hair" (), is a Hong Kong politician and social activist. He was a member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong, Legislative Council, representing the N ...
of the
League of Social Democrats
The League of Social Democrats (LSD) is a social democratic party in Hong Kong. Chaired by Chan Po-ying, wife of Leung Kwok-hung, it positions itself as the radical wing of the pro-democracy camp (Hong Kong), pro-democracy camp and stresses on ...
(LSD) threw
luncheon meat
Lunch meats—also known as cold cuts, luncheon meats, cooked meats, sliced meats, cold meats, sandwich meats, and deli meats—are precooked or cured meats that are sliced and served cold or hot. They are typically served in sandwiches or on ...
at them in protest. Luncheon meat has been a symbol against
filibusters in LegCo after former pro-Beijing legislator
Wong Kwok-hing
Wong Kwok-hing BBS MH (, Vietnamese : ''Vương Quốc Hưng'' ; born 29 March 1949, Haiphong, North Vietnam) is a Hong Kong trade unionist and a former member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong, representing the New Territories West cons ...
of the
Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions
The Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions (HKFTU) is a pro-Beijing labour and political group established in 1948 in Hong Kong. It is the oldest and largest labour group in Hong Kong with over 420,000 members in 253 affiliates and associated ...
(FTU) measured the cost of long debates in terms of the amount of luncheon meat that could have been bought instead of paying the legislators.
LegCo's democratic caucus convenor
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to:
*Democratic Party (United States)
Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to:
Active parties Africa
*Botswana Democratic Party
*Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea
*Gabonese Democratic Party
*Demo ...
's
James To
James To Kun-sun (; ; born 11 March 1963) is a Hong Kong lawyer and Democratic Party politician. From 1991 to 2020, To was a member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong, representing the District Council (Second) constituency. In his fina ...
said the pro-Beijing members "blatantly adjourned the meeting with the use of rules of procedures to block lawmakers from retaking their oaths". Democrat
Lam Cheuk-ting
Lam Cheuk-ting (; born 13 June 1977) is a Democratic Party politician in Hong Kong. He is a former investigator of the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) and chief executive of the Democratic Party. He was a member of the North ...
, who had originally planned to petition at the meeting setting up a select committee to investigate
HK$50 million Chief executive Leung Chun-ying received from Australian engineering firm
UGL Limited
UGL, formerly known as United Group, is an engineering company. The company provides construction, maintenance, and asset management services to the rail, resources, and infrastructure sectors, and corporate real estate, facilities management, a ...
, accused the pro-Beijing camp of helping the Chief executive. Civic Party legislator Dennis Kwok said the walkout was a huge blow to the city's rule of law, and disrespectful to the court system as the court had refused to grant an injunction preventing the Youngspiration pair from retaking their oaths.
After the pro-Beijing legislators walked out, localist
Civic Passion
Civic Passion was a radical, populist, localist, and nativist political party in Hong Kong. Founded by Wong Yeung-tat as an activist group in 2012, it held strong localist views and opposed the involvement of the Chinese government in the ...
's
Cheng Chung-tai
Cheng Chung-tai (; born 5 November 1983) is a Hong Kong academic, social activist, and politician. After winning a seat in the New Territories West constituency in the 2016 legislative election, he took over from Wong Yeung-tat as chairman of ...
was seen turning the flags of China and Hong Kong, which DAB's
Lau Kwok-fan
Edward Lau Kwok-fan, MH, JP (; born 28 June 1981) is a Hong Kong politician. He is the member of the executive committee of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB) and former member of the North District Coun ...
had brought into the chamber, upside down. DAB's
Chan Hak-kan
Gary Chan Hak-kan, BBS, JP (born 24 April 1976) is a current member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong. He represents the New Territories North East constituency and is a member of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progres ...
said Cheng's act was against the law. Lau subsequently reported Cheng to the police and urged them to investigate and prosecute in accordance with the law.
LegCo President's on-hold decision
![Andrew Leung as Legco President](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b9/Andrew_Leung_as_Legco_President.png)
On 25 October, LegCo President Andrew Leung took a U-turn by deciding to delay the oath-taking of Sixtus Leung and Yau Wai-ching on Wednesday's general meeting on 26 October, six hours after Chief executive Leung Chun-ying warned of "far-reaching repercussions" on the relationship between Hong Kong and the mainland should the matter not be "rectified". Leung cited Article 72 of the Basic Law which allows the LegCo president to decide on the agenda, even though according to Rule 18 of LegCo's rules of procedures, oath-taking is designated as the first priority of the order of LegCo's business. "I note with grave concern the intention of the pro-establishment lawmakers to forestall the
ath-takingat all costs," Andrew Leung explained. If he let Sixtus Leung and Yau retake the oaths on 26 October, "the most probable outcome is that LegCo will come to a complete halt", as the pro-Beijing camp had threatened a second walkout to block the duo from retaking their oaths. The Youngspiration pair slammed the president for what they called a "ridiculous" reversal of his earlier decision.
On 26 October, despite Andrew Leung's ban on the two Youngspiration members entering the LegCo chamber citing Rule 1 of LegCo's rules of procedures, the duo successfully entered the chamber, escorted by at least eight pan-democracy legislators and surrounded by reporters. Andrew Leung immediately asked Sixtus Leung and Yau Wai-ching to leave when he entered the chamber. After a short suspension of the meeting, Civic Passion's Cheng Chung-tai shouted at Andrew Leung, asking him to explain why he did not allow the duo to take their oath. Leung asked Cheng to leave the premises with Sixtus Leung and Yau. All three refused. After few minutes, Andrew Leung announced the meeting to be adjourned.
The pro-democracy camp call on Andrew Leung to resign after the adjournment. "Andrew Leung is unfit to perform his role," the camp's convenor James To said. "The quorum was met, but he did not administer the oath
or the duoin accordance with the law. In the face of the chaos, he did not know what to do but to adjourn the meeting. He has no basic competence to chair the meeting." The pro-Beijing camp blamed the adjournment on the pro-democrats. "People might have different interpretations of the rules of procedures, but they should respect the final ruling of the LegCo president," Regina Ip of the New People's Party said, referring to Andrew Leung's earlier decision to ban the Youngspiration pair from entering the chamber.
Felix Chung
Felix Chung Kwok-pan (, born 4 November 1963) is a former member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong for the Textiles and Garment constituency, representing the Liberal Party. He has also been the leader of the Liberal Party since 2016, afte ...
, leader of the
Liberal Party
The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left.
__TOC__ Active liberal parties
This is a li ...
said the city was in a "constitutional crisis" as the legislature could not function at all.
On 2 November, the fourth general meeting was adjourned again after the two Youngspiration legislators Yau Wai-ching and Sixtus Leung stormed into the main chamber and tried to take the oaths on themselves after another localist Lau Siu-lai, who was not under legal challenge, successfully retook her oath. President Andrew Leung relocated the meeting to another conference room where the duo attempted to enter. Six security guards were injured and police was called before the meeting was adjourned.
Interpretation of the Basic Law
Two days before the court hearing, Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying said he could not rule out asking Beijing to interpret the Basic Law on the oath-taking row on 1 November. On 3 November in the court hearing, Benjamin Yu SC, counsel for the Chief Executive and the Secretary for Justice, argued that the constitutional provision requiring legislators to duly take the oath as stipulated in the Article 104 of the Basic Law "is at stake" and therefore the court should intervene. Hectar Pun Hei SC for Sixtus Leung and Philip Dykes SC for Yau Wai-ching argued that the Basic Law provides for a separation of powers in which the oath-taking controversy should be resolved by the Legislative Council itself through a "political process" rather than a judicial process. Justice Thomas Au Hing-cheung said he would deliver his ruling "as soon as practicable" in the light of the possibility of the interpretation of the Basic Law by the National People's Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC).
On 4 November,
Maria Tam
Maria Tam Wai-chu (; born 2 November 1945) is a senior Hong Kong politician and lawyer. She is a member of the Committee for the Basic Law of the National People's Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC) since 1997 and the chairman of the Operati ...
, a member of the Basic Law Committee of the NPCSC, confirmed that the committee had received a letter from
Zhang Dejiang
Zhang Dejiang (; born 4 November 1946) is a Chinese retired politician. He served as the Chairman of the Standing Committee of the 12th National People's Congress, roughly the equivalent of a speaker of parliament in other countries between ...
, chairman of the National People's Congress, who said Basic Law Article 104 would be interpreted and that committee members' views would be sought. A Hong Kong government spokesman also said it had been notified by the central government that an item relating to interpreting Article 104 of the Basic Law had been put on the agenda of the NPCSC. Civic Party's Dennis Kwok for the Legal constituency warned the interpretation would deal a huge blow to Hong Kong's rule of law. The
Hong Kong Bar Association
The Hong Kong Bar Association (HKBA) is the professional regulatory body for barristers in Hong Kong. The Law Society of Hong Kong is the equivalent association for solicitors in Hong Kong.
Victor Dawes SC is the current chairman of the Cou ...
said it was "deeply concerned" about the reports of the interpretation of the Basic Law earlier, saying it would "deal a severe blow to the independence of the judiciary and the power of final adjudication of the Hong Kong court", if the NPCSC insisted on interpreting the Basic Law before the court's final ruling. "It will also seriously undermine the confidence of the Hong Kong people and the international community in the high degree of autonomy of
ong Kong Ong or ONG may refer to:
Arts and media
* Ong's Hat, a collaborative work of fiction
* “Ong Ong”, a song by Blur from the album The Magic Whip
Places
* Ong, Nebraska, US, city
* Ong's Hat, New Jersey, US, ghost town
* Ong River, Odisha, ...
" it said.
On 6 November, between 8,000 (police figures) and 13,000 people (according to the rally organisers) protested against the interpretation of the Basic Law. Police used pepper spray to disperse protesters outside the
Central Government's Liaison Office in
Sai Ying Pun
Sai Ying Pun is an area in Western District, on Hong Kong Island, in Hong Kong. It is administratively part of the Central and Western District.
Etymology
In Cantonese, ''Sai'' () means "west" and ''Ying Pun'' () means "camp", especially a ...
. Subsequently,
Demosistō
Demosisto (stylised Demosistō) () was a pro-democracy political organisation established on 10 April 2016 as a political party. It was led by Joshua Wong and Agnes Chow – former leaders of Scholarism, along with Nathan Law, former secreta ...
, Student Fight for Democracy, the League of Social Democrats and the
Labour Party announced the demonstration was over and urged protesters to depart to "avoid sacrifice" in face of the "unfavourable situation". From 2 am, a squad of about 40 officers deployed with batons actively chased after protesters from Wilmer Street to
Bonham Strand West
Bonham Strand ( Chinese: 文咸街) is a combination of two streets in Sheung Wan, Hong Kong: Bonham Strand (文咸東街) and Bonham Strand West (文咸西街).
As the name suggests, it was a strand and close to shore in the past though curre ...
to disperse those remaining. Four people were arrested and two police officers injured during the clash.
On 7 November, the NPCSC unanimously passed "The National People's Congress Standing Committee's interpretation of the Basic Law Article 104 of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region". Under the interpretation, the person taking the LegCo member's oath should take it in a sincere and solemn manner with accurate, complete and solemn phrases such as "uphold the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China" and "bear allegiance to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China" as stated in the statutory text of the oath. If the oath-taker refuses to take the oath or otherwise deliberately fails to take it in the correct way, he or she cannot retake the oath and shall be disqualified from assuming public office. It also stated that the oath administrator has the duty to confirm if the oath-taking is carried out legally and complies with this interpretation and Hong Kong law. The spokesman of the
Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office
The Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office of the State Council is an administrative agency of the State Council of the People's Republic of China responsible for promoting cooperation and coordination of political, economic and cultural ties betwe ...
stated that "
eijingwill absolutely neither permit anyone advocating secession in Hong Kong nor allow any pro-independence activists to enter a government institution."
Following Beijing's decision, Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying said Hong Kong would enact
Article 23, a controversial provision of the Basic Law relating to national security legislation. On 8 November, hundreds of lawyers joined a silent march against Beijing's interpretation of the Basic Law, claiming it harms
judicial independence Judicial independence is the concept that the judiciary should be independent from the other branches of government. That is, courts should not be subject to improper influence from the other branches of government or from private or partisan inte ...
. Mainland legal scholar and Hong Kong adviser
Jiang Shigong
Jiang Shigong (; born 11 November 1967) is a Chinese legal and political theorist, currently a professor at Peking University Law School, and a researcher on Hong Kong affairs. He is a "conservative socialist" exponent of Xi Jinping Thought a ...
responded to criticism of the interpretation by lawyers in Hong Kong by invoking the
doctrine of necessity
The doctrine of necessity is the basis on which extra-constitutional actions by administrative authority, which are designed to restore order or attain power on the pretext of stability, are considered to be lawful even if such an action contrave ...
in common law.
First wave of disqualifications
On 15 November 2016, Justice Thomas Au Hing-cheung, Justice of the High Court ruled that the two Youngspiration legislators should lose their seats as their conduct during 12 October oath-taking meant they had declined to take their oaths. The judge also ruled that Legislative Council President Andrew Leung had no power to arrange a second oath-taking for the pair, adding that he had made his conclusions independently of the NPCSC interpretation.
On 30 November 2016, the
Court of Appeal
A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of t ...
(Cheung CJHC,
Lam VP, and Poon JA) unanimously rejected the appeals by the duo, referring to Beijing's interpretation as giving the "true meaning" to the part of the Basic Law.
Chief Judge
A chief judge (also known as presiding judge, president judge or principal judge) is the highest-ranking or most senior member of a lower court or circuit court with more than one judge. According to the Federal judiciary of the United States, th ...
Andrew Cheung
Andrew Cheung Kui-nung (; born 24 September 1961) is a Hong Kong judge who serves as the 3rd Chief Justice of the Court of Final Appeal. He previously served as a Permanent Judge of the same court. He was the 4th and longest-serving Chief J ...
held that:
"The interpretation specifically sets out the consequence of an oath taker's declining to take the relevant oath – automatic disqualification, as part of the true meaning of Article 104 ..The principle of nonintervention cannot prevent the court from adjudicating on the consequence of a failure to meet the constitutional requirement ..There can be no dispute that both Leung and Yau have declined respectively to take the egislative CouncilOath. What has been done was done deliberately and intentionally ..As a matter of law and fact, Leung and Yau have failed the constitutional requirement. They are caught by paragraph 2(3) of the Interpretation as well as section 21 of the Ordinance which gives effect to the constitutional requirement. Under the former, they were automatically disqualified forthwith from assuming their offices. Under the latter, they "shall ... vacate heir respective offices" There is therefore no question of allowing them to retake the LegCo Oath."
The interpretation also affected several other judicial reviews subsequently filed by supporters of the pro-Beijing camp targeting about a dozen legislators who added words to the prescribed oath to make a political statement.
Judicial reviews targeting pro-Beijing legislators were also filed, namely LegCo President Andrew Leung, Regina Ip and
Lo Wai-kwok
Lo Wai-kwok, (; born 25 December 1953) is a member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong for the Engineering constituency since 2012 LegCo election, representing the Business and Professionals Alliance for Hong Kong (BPA). In 2016, he succe ...
who once pledged allegiance to the United Kingdom and the Queen as a British national or colonial government official during British rule over Hong Kong. Pro-democrats
Chan Chi-chuen of
People Power
"People Power" is a political term denoting the populist driving force of any social movement which invokes the authority of grassroots opinion and willpower, usually in opposition to that of conventionally organised corporate or political for ...
,
Leung Kwok-hung
Leung Kwok-hung ( zh, t=梁國雄; born 27 March 1956), also known by his nickname "Long Hair" (), is a Hong Kong politician and social activist. He was a member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong, Legislative Council, representing the N ...
of the
League of Social Democrats
The League of Social Democrats (LSD) is a social democratic party in Hong Kong. Chaired by Chan Po-ying, wife of Leung Kwok-hung, it positions itself as the radical wing of the pro-democracy camp (Hong Kong), pro-democracy camp and stresses on ...
,
Cheng Chung-tai
Cheng Chung-tai (; born 5 November 1983) is a Hong Kong academic, social activist, and politician. After winning a seat in the New Territories West constituency in the 2016 legislative election, he took over from Wong Yeung-tat as chairman of ...
of
Civic Passion
Civic Passion was a radical, populist, localist, and nativist political party in Hong Kong. Founded by Wong Yeung-tat as an activist group in 2012, it held strong localist views and opposed the involvement of the Chinese government in the ...
, nonpartisans
Shiu Ka-chun
Shiu Ka-chun (; born 1970) is a Hong Kong social worker and activist, and a former lecturer at Hong Kong Baptist University. He was one of leaders in the 2014 Hong Kong protests. In 2016, he was elected to the Legislative Council of Hong Kong thr ...
,
Yiu Chung-yim
Edward Yiu Chung-yim (; born 19 July 1964) is a Hong Kong academic, scholar and former politician who is currently an associate professor of property at the University of Auckland Business School. He is a former member of the Legislative Council ...
,
Lau Siu-lai
Lau Siu-lai (; born 3 August 1976) is a Hong Kong educator, academic, activist, and politician. She is a sociology lecturer at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University's Hong Kong Community College and the founder of Democracy Groundwork and Age o ...
and
Eddie Chu
Eddie Chu Hoi-dick (; born 29 September 1977) is a Hong Kong social activist and politician. He is a member of the Local Action and founder of the Land Justice League which are involved in conservation and environmental movements. He is kno ...
,
Demosistō
Demosisto (stylised Demosistō) () was a pro-democracy political organisation established on 10 April 2016 as a political party. It was led by Joshua Wong and Agnes Chow – former leaders of Scholarism, along with Nathan Law, former secreta ...
's
Nathan Law
Nathan Law Kwun-chung ( zh, link=no, t=羅冠聰; born 13 July 1993) is an activist and politician from Hong Kong. As a former student leader, he has been chairman of the Representative Council of the Lingnan University Students' Union (LUSU ...
,
Democrats Andrew Wan
Andrew Wan Siu-kin (; born 7 June 1969) is the former vice-chairman of the Democratic Party and a former member of the Kwai Tsing District Council for Shek Yam constituency. He was elected in the 2016 Hong Kong Legislative Council election th ...
,
Lam Cheuk-ting
Lam Cheuk-ting (; born 13 June 1977) is a Democratic Party politician in Hong Kong. He is a former investigator of the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) and chief executive of the Democratic Party. He was a member of the North ...
,
Helena Wong Helena Wong may refer to:
* Helena Wong (weightlifter) (born 1988), Singapore weightlifter
*Helena Wong (politician)
Helena Wong Pik-wan (, born 21 March 1959) is a former member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong for Kowloon West const ...
, and
Roy Kwong
Roy Kwong Chun-yu (; born 9 February 1983) is a Hong Kong politician and novelist. He is a member of the Democratic Party and former member of the Yuen Long District Council for Pek Long. He became a member of the Legislative Council of Hong Ko ...
, and the
Labour Party's
Fernando Cheung
Fernando Cheung Chiu-hung (; born 23 February 1957 in Macau) is a Hong Kong politician, the vice-chairman of the Labour Party, and a former member of the Legislative Council.
Career
Cheung obtained his undergraduate degree in social work fro ...
also faced judicial reviews.
On 25 August 2017,
Chief Justice Geoffrey Ma
Geoffrey Ma Tao-li (; born 11 January 1956) is a retired Hong Kong judge who served as the 2nd Chief Justice of the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal— the court of last resort (or supreme court) in Hong Kong. Between 2001 and 2010, he held ...
and permanent judges
Robert Ribeiro
Roberto Alexandre Vieira Ribeiro (, born 20 March 1949) is a Hong Kong judge and honorary lecturer in law at the University of Hong Kong. He is currently one of the three permanent judges for the Court of Final Appeal in Hong Kong, and is th ...
and
Joseph Fok
Joseph Paul Fok (, born 24 September 1962) is a Permanent Judge of the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal. At 51 years and 28 days, he is the third youngest-ever judge to be appointed to the Court of Final Appeal, behind only Kemal Bokhary and And ...
of the
Court of Final Appeal rejected a final bid by Sixtus Leung and Yau Wai-ching.
Second wave of disqualifications
On 2 December 2016 Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying and the Secretary for Justice Rimsky Yuen lodged another judicial review against four more pro-democracy legislators over their oaths,
Lau Siu-lai
Lau Siu-lai (; born 3 August 1976) is a Hong Kong educator, academic, activist, and politician. She is a sociology lecturer at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University's Hong Kong Community College and the founder of Democracy Groundwork and Age o ...
,
Nathan Law
Nathan Law Kwun-chung ( zh, link=no, t=羅冠聰; born 13 July 1993) is an activist and politician from Hong Kong. As a former student leader, he has been chairman of the Representative Council of the Lingnan University Students' Union (LUSU ...
,
Leung Kwok-hung
Leung Kwok-hung ( zh, t=梁國雄; born 27 March 1956), also known by his nickname "Long Hair" (), is a Hong Kong politician and social activist. He was a member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong, Legislative Council, representing the N ...
and
Yiu Chung-yim
Edward Yiu Chung-yim (; born 19 July 1964) is a Hong Kong academic, scholar and former politician who is currently an associate professor of property at the University of Auckland Business School. He is a former member of the Legislative Council ...
, who were already under legal challenge filed by pro-Beijing supporters.
On 14 July 2017, the court ruled the four pro-democracy legislators were to lose their seats. Judge Thomas Au found that the oaths of Leung, Law and Yiu were invalid as they added statements before and after the oaths and for Lau, she took such long pauses between the words that the oath lost its meaning. Au also said "politics and political arguments" did not feature in his decision. Law's party,
Demosistō
Demosisto (stylised Demosistō) () was a pro-democracy political organisation established on 10 April 2016 as a political party. It was led by Joshua Wong and Agnes Chow – former leaders of Scholarism, along with Nathan Law, former secreta ...
issued a statement saying that with a total of six legislators ejected to date, "more than 180,000 voters had their voices silenced." The pro-democracy camp also lost its majority in the
geographical constituencies
In Hong Kong, geographical constituencies, as opposed to functional constituencies, are elected by all eligible voters according to geographically demarcated constituencies. There are currently 5 geographical constituencies in Hong Kong, returnin ...
as a result, dropping from 17 to 14 seats out of 35 seats, and lost the power to block pro-Beijing legislators' motions and bill amendments, including amendments to rule of procedures to block radical democrats' filibustering.
In March 2017, Lo King-yeung, a
Lai King
Lai King, or Lai King Hill, is the colloquial name for a residential area including a number of private housing and public housing estates, located on Mo Shek Shan (), east of Kwai Chung, New Territories, Hong Kong. It is centred on Lai King Estat ...
resident mounted legal action against two more legislators,
Cheng Chung-tai
Cheng Chung-tai (; born 5 November 1983) is a Hong Kong academic, social activist, and politician. After winning a seat in the New Territories West constituency in the 2016 legislative election, he took over from Wong Yeung-tat as chairman of ...
of the
Civic Passion
Civic Passion was a radical, populist, localist, and nativist political party in Hong Kong. Founded by Wong Yeung-tat as an activist group in 2012, it held strong localist views and opposed the involvement of the Chinese government in the ...
and
Eddie Chu
Eddie Chu Hoi-dick (; born 29 September 1977) is a Hong Kong social activist and politician. He is a member of the Local Action and founder of the Land Justice League which are involved in conservation and environmental movements. He is kno ...
who had also added words to their oaths. As Lo failed to promptly pay a deposit to start the case on time, High Court Judge Thomas Au Hing-cheung refused to let him make the late payment on 31 July, meaning the lawsuit could not proceed.
It also marked the end of the all lawsuits relating to the oath-taking controversy.
Councillor oath with suspected violations
Indirectly caused disputes in the 2016 Macau Legislative Council Election Law
The new election rules stipulate that candidates should not carry out activities that could influence voters in the two-month period between their registration and the start of the campaign period on August 31. Commercial advertising is barred from most public areas, except those specially designated by the government.
After an interpretation of the Basic Law, the Macau EAC carried out a new election measure to require that all candidates sign an additional "confirmation form" in their nomination of their understanding of the
Basic Law of Macau
The Basic Law of the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( zh, 中華人民共和國澳門特別行政區基本法, pt, Lei Básica da Região Administrativa Especial de Macau da República Popular da China) is ...
.
See also
*
2016 Mong Kok civil unrest
Civil unrest occurred in Mong Kok, Hong Kong from the night of 8 February 2016 until the following morning. The incident escalated from the government's crackdown on unlicensed street hawkers during the Chinese New Year holidays. Eventual viole ...
*
6th Legislative Council of Hong Kong
The Sixth Legislative Council of Hong Kong was the sixth meeting of the legislative branch of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government. Running from 1 October 2016 to 31 December 2021, it was the longest legislative session in Hong ...
*
Charles Bradlaugh
Charles Bradlaugh (; 26 September 1833 – 30 January 1891) was an English political activist and atheist. He founded the National Secular Society in 1866, 15 years after George Holyoake had coined the term "secularism" in 1851.
In 1880, Brad ...
*
2018 Hong Kong by-election
*
Hong Kong independence
Hong Kong independence is a political movement that advocates the establishment of Hong Kong as an independent sovereign state. Hong Kong is one of two Special administrative regions of China (SAR) which enjoys a certain degree of autonomy ...
*
Hong Kong LegCo candidates' disqualification controversy
*
2016 Hong Kong legislative election
Sixteen or 16 may refer to:
*16 (number), the natural number following 15 and preceding 17
*one of the years 16 BC, AD 16, 1916, 2016
Films
* '' Pathinaaru'' or ''Sixteen'', a 2010 Tamil film
* ''Sixteen'' (1943 film), a 1943 Argentine film ...
*
Localism in Hong Kong
In Hong Kong, localism is a political movement centered on the preservation of the city's autonomy and local culture. The Hong Kong localist movement encompasses a variety of groups with different goals, but all of them oppose the perceived grow ...
Notes
References
External links
Full text: Interpretation of Article 104 of Basic Law of Hong Kong SARRules of Procedure of the Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region*
{{HKafter1997
2016 in Hong Kong
2017 in Hong Kong
Oaths
Politics of Hong Kong
Political repression in Hong Kong