HONG KONG, Nov. 7 (UPI) — Two separatist lawmakers who had to be restrained in the Hong Kong parliament chamber after running in to attempt to retake their oaths of office have been officially barred from doing so by China.
Sixtus Leung and Yau Wai-ching, elected to the parliament in September but repeatedly stopped from taking their oaths of office, were banned from taking office after China invoked a rarely used clause in the Hong Kong mini-constitution allowing it to overrule local lawmakers.
Protesters poured onto the streets of Hong Kong on Sunday over the announcement China would weigh in on the controversy surrounding the two legislators-elect, and may not react well to the announcement early Monday.
Leung and Wai-ching both inserted vulgarity and anti-Chinese slurs into their oaths of office, which members of parliament rejected once already. The local government in Hong Kong had filed suit to prevent them from retaking their oaths when China said it would express an opinion on the issue.
“Reading the vows in any dishonest, ungraceful manner is also a refusal to the oath, and it shall be void,” the Monday-morning ruling said, saying changes to the oath automatically disqualify a lawmaker from office.
When China retook possession of Hong Kong in 1997 from Britain, it agreed to allow the city to basically rule itself until at least 2024. The role of China in Hong Kong’s function is controversial with some in the city as they want full independence.
The mini-constitution which allows Hong Kong to function independently from China in most ways includes a clause that allows China to give final ruling on issues if it wants to. The clause has only been invoked five times; however, each instance is a reminder that Hong Kong is not actually independent, say separatists.
The ruling suggests other legislators’ oaths could be challenged, and may have other unforeseen effects depending on how it is interpreted by the Hong Kong government, including the dampening of expression for independence for the city.
“After the interpretation, there may be other people who will raise judicial reviews to the courts to challenge these seats [of other lawmakers] in future,” Professor Lau Siu-kai, vice chairman of the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macau Studies, told the South China Morning Post. “It depends on how many people are willing to raise the judicial review, but someone is likely to do it based on the public’s indignation.”
