Sixtus Leung
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Sixtus "Baggio" Leung Chung-hang (; born 7 August 1986) is a Hong Kong activist and politician. He is the convenor 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 ...
, a
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 ...
political group in Hong Kong that leans towards
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 ...
, and is also leader and spokesperson of the pro-independence Hong Kong National Front. He was elected to 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 ...
as a member for New Territories East in the 2016 Hong Kong Legislative Council election. Triggered by his actions to make an
independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...
political statement during the oath-taking ceremony, he faced a legal challenge from the government and was later stripped of his office by the court on 15 November 2016.


Background

Leung graduated from the
City University of Hong Kong City University of Hong Kong (CityU) is a world-class public research university located in Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong. It was founded in 1984 as City Polytechnic of Hong Kong and became a fully accredited university in 1994. Currently, CityU is ...
and was the president of the City University of Hong Kong Students' Union in 2007. It was reported that he supported the government's appointment of
Way Kuo Way may refer to: Paths * a road, route, path or pathway, including long-distance paths. * a straight rail or track on a machine tool, (such as that on the bed of a lathe) on which part of the machine slides * Ways, large slipway in shipbuildin ...
to be the president of the City University of Hong Kong and developed a close relationship with the Chinese Liaison Office in Hong Kong. Leung later admitted that they have met but he did not agree with their stance. He became a digital marketer after his graduation. In January 2015, Leung established
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 ...
with a group of like-minded people who participated in the 2014 Occupy protests, often dubbed the "Umbrella Movement". It stands on a
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 ...
platform, against the influx of Chinese immigrants and tourists. In the 2015 District Council election, Youngspiration fielded nine candidates, in which Leung himself stood in Kwun Lung against
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 ...
Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong The Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB) is a pro-Beijing conservative political party in Hong Kong. Chaired by Starry Lee and holding 13 Legislative Council seats, it is currently the largest party in the l ...
(DAB) Yeung Hoi-wing who succeeded veteran
Ip Kwok-him Ip Kwok-him, GBM, GBS, JP (; born 8 November 1951) is a former unofficial member of the Executive Council of Hong Kong, served between 2016 and 2022. He is also former member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong for the District Council ...
. Leung lost the election by a margin of about 900 votes. Only one of the nine Youngspiration candidates was elected.


Legislative Councillor and disqualification

In the 2016 Legislative Council election, Youngspiration formed an electoral alliance under the name of " ALLinHK" with other newly founded Umbrella groups. Leung planned to stand in the
Hong Kong Island constituency The Hong Kong Island geographical constituency was one of the five geographical constituencies in the elections for the Legislative Council of Hong Kong from 1998 to 2021. It was established in 1998 for the first SAR Legislative Council elect ...
but later stood in
New Territories West New Territories West (NTW) is the western part of Hong Kong's New Territories, covering Yuen Long, Tuen Mun, Tsuen Wan, Kwai Tsing and the Islands District. History Settlements in the area, except the Islands District, have been connected by the ...
. He withdrew his nomination at the last moment and led his own ticket in New Territories East as a backup plan right before
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 ...
was disqualified by 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) for his pro-independence stance. Baggio Leung was elected, receiving 37,997 votes. On 12 October 2016 in the first meeting of the session, Leung and 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 ...
inserted their own words into the official script and had their oaths rejected. They were criticised for pronouncing China as " Jee-na", a term considered derogatory since the
Second Sino-Japanese War The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) or War of Resistance (Chinese term) was a military conflict that was primarily waged between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. The war made up the Chinese theater of the wider Pacific Th ...
, and Yau was mispronouncing "
People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
" as "people's re-fucking of Jee-na". As a result, their qualification as legislators was challenged by the government in court. 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) intervened in the court case by interpreting Article 104 of the Basic Law of Hong Kong to "clarify" the provision of the legislators to swear allegiance to Hong Kong as part of China when they take office, by insisting oath taking be conducted sincerely and accurately, and later stating that China would firmly oppose Hong Kong independence. On 15 November 2016, the court vacated the two legislators' seats on the grounds they did not take their oaths "faithfully and truthfully". On 26 August 2017, the
Court of Final Appeal of Hong Kong The Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal (HKCFA or CFA) is the final appellate court of Hong Kong. It was established on 1 July 1997, upon the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, replacing the Judicial Committee of t ...
refused to appeal the case as they did not have a reasonably arguable case. Leung and Yau were found to have manifestly refused and wilfully omitted to take their oath – an act classed as declining and neglecting it. In May 2020, Leung faced a court ruling where the Legislative Council Commission demanded a repayment of HK$930,000 (US$120,000). The commission claimed he mistakenly received the funds and salary intended for lawmakers. A bankruptcy order was asked to be petitioned against him. Speaking about the legal proceedings, Leung remarked on his preparedness and that "being declared bankrupt was minor compared to being jailed for life under Beijing’s new national security law for Hong Kong."


Exile

On 11 December 2020, a group of exiled Hong Kong citizens reported that Leung had left the city and fled to the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
on 30 November and that he was seeking asylum. Leung later confirmed this from
Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
and said he hoped to meet with advisers to President-elect Joe Biden to discuss sanctions on China over its "treatment of Hong Kong".


Notes


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leung, Baggio 1986 births Alumni of the City University of Hong Kong Hong Kong localists Living people Youngspiration politicians HK LegCo Members 2016–2021 People expelled from public office Fugitives wanted under the Hong Kong national security law Political refugees in the United States