Twelve pro-democracy candidates were formally disqualified on Thursday, including prominent Hong Kong activist and former 2014 Umbrella Movement leader Joshua Wong. Others affected include a number of candidates from more traditional pro-democracy parties, as well as several young activists who cut their political teeth in last year’s pro-democracy protest movement.
In a statement, the Hong Kong government said it supported the decisions of returning officers to “invalidate 12 nominees for this year’s Legislative Council (LegCo) general election.”
He said the candidates had been excluded for failing to respect the Basic Law, Hong Kong’s de facto constitution, recently expanded with a new security law imposed on the city by Beijing, which criminalizes secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion. with foreign forces
“Returning officers are still reviewing the validity of other nominations in accordance with the laws,” the government added. “We do not rule out the possibility that more nominations will be invalidated.”
Choice in doubt
Several letters posted online by disqualified returning officer candidates informing them of their decision cited previous opposition to the security law as a reason for the move.
“The excuse they use is that I describe (the security law) as a draconian law, which shows that I don’t support this radical law,” said Wong.
The disqualifications come amid widespread reports that the government is preparing to postpone the elections, which will take place on September 6, until next year, due to a continuous increase in coronavirus cases in the city.
It’s unclear how the disqualifications will affect this, or if there will be another round of nominations next year if the polls are postponed.
In the statement, the Hong Kong government said it “respects and protects the legal rights of the Hong Kong people, including the right to vote and the right to stand for election.”
Students arrested
Police said those arrested were three men and a woman, aged between 16 and 21.
Although police declined to name the group or those arrested, the political group Studentlocalism said on Facebook that its members were among those detained, naming one as former leader Tony Chung.
Student localism was one of several political groups in Hong Kong that announced it was ending operations in the city due to the new security law, though it did not remove its social media pages and said that activists abroad would continue their work.
At a press conference on Wednesday night, police spokesman Lee Kwai-wah said the organization had “published about the establishment of a new party that advocates for Hong Kong independence on social media.”
“We have to enforce the laws even if crimes are committed on the Internet. Don’t think you can escape responsibility in cyberspace and commit crimes,” added Lee.
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