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Hong Kong’s pro-democracy lawmakers said Wednesday they were resigning en masse following a move by the semi-autonomous Chinese territory government to disqualify four of their pro-democracy lawmakers.
The 15 lawmakers announced the measure at a press conference on Wednesday, hours after the Hong Kong government said it was disqualifying the four lawmakers: Alvin Yeung, Dennis Kwok, Kwok Ka-ki and Kenneth Leung.
The disqualifications came after the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of China, which met on Tuesday and Wednesday, passed a resolution stating that those who support Hong Kong’s independence or refuse to recognize China’s sovereignty over the city, or threaten national security or ask outside forces to interfere in city affairs, should be disqualified.
Vincent Yu / AP
Hong Kong has moved to disqualify four pro-democracy lawmakers (from left to right, Dennis Kwok, Kenneth Leung, Kwok Ka-ki, and Alvin Yeung), after Beijing passed a resolution that would allow the local government to remove lawmakers from their charges if ‘deemed to threaten national security.
“Today we will resign from our positions, because our partners, our colleagues have been disqualified by the ruthless action of the central government,” Wu Chi-wai, convener of the pro-democracy camp, told the press conference.
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“Although we face many difficulties in the coming future for the fight for democracy, we will never, never give up,” he said.
Wu said pro-democracy lawmakers would deliver their resignation letters on Thursday (local time). During the press conference, pro-democracy lawmakers chanted “Hong Kong add oil, together we are” while holding hands.
“This is a real act by Beijing … to add the finishing touch to Hong Kong’s democratic struggle, because they would think that from now on anyone they consider politically incorrect or unpatriotic or just not nice to watch, could just evict them. by any means, ”said pro-democracy lawmaker Claudia Mo.
In recent months, Beijing has taken steps to suppress opposition voices in Hong Kong with the imposition of a national security law, after months of anti-government protests last year rocked the city.
“In terms of legality and constitutionality, obviously from our point of view, this is clearly a violation of the Basic Law and our right to participate in public affairs, and a failure to observe due process,” said Kwok, one of the disqualified legislators. referring to the mini-constitution of Hong Kong.
Vincent Yu / AP
Hong Kong CEO Carrie Lam says lawmakers are expected to act appropriately and pledge allegiance to Hong Kong SAR, and that the political party should be made up of patriots.
Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam told a news conference Wednesday that lawmakers must act correctly and that the city needs a legislature made up of patriots.
“We cannot allow members of the Legislative Council who have been tried in accordance with the law to fail to meet the requirements and prerequisites to serve on the Legislative Council to continue to operate on the Legislative Council,” Lam said.
A massive resignation by the pro-democracy camp would leave the Hong Kong legislature with only pro-Beijing lawmakers. The pro-Beijing camp already makes up the majority of the city’s legislature, but the resignations could allow lawmakers to pass Beijing-favored bills without opposition.
Still, Lam said the legislature would not become a rubber stamp body and that diverse opinion is welcome.
“I will clearly say that it is unfair to the pro-establishment members that once the 19 members leave the Legislative Council, they become a rubber stamp of the Hong Kong SAR government,” he said. “That certainly wouldn’t happen.”
Earlier in the year, the four now disqualified pro-democracy lawmakers were barred from running in the legislative elections originally scheduled for September, before the government declared it would postpone the elections for a year due to the coronavirus. They were disqualified for their calls on foreign governments to impose sanctions on Hong Kong and Beijing.
Vincent Yu / AP
The move to disqualify four lawmakers has prompted massive resignations in Hong Kong.
Subsequently, the four legislators remained in their positions after the postponement of the elections.
The postponement was criticized by the pro-democracy camp as an attempt to prevent them from winning the majority of seats in the legislature, after having held an unofficial pro-democracy primary in which more than 600,000 voters participated in deciding which candidates to run. .
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said the move to disqualify lawmakers was necessary to maintain the rule of law and constitutional order in Hong Kong.
“We strongly support the (Hong Kong) government in carrying out its functions in accordance with the decision of the Standing Committee,” Wang said at a regular news conference.
Beijing’s imposition of the national security law on Hong Kong in June and the ensuing repression of opposition voices have drawn condemnation from Washington and other Western democracies. Several countries have suspended their extradition treaties with Hong Kong, and Washington has banned Lam and other prominent figures from visiting the United States and has ordered the blocking of any American assets in their possession.
Beijing has rejected all of these criticisms and lashed out at what it calls major foreign interference in Chinese politics.
“I want to emphasize that Hong Kong is a special administrative region of China,” Wang said, reiterating Beijing’s position. “The issue of the qualification of the Hong Kong Legislative Council members is purely China’s internal affairs. No country has the right to make irresponsible comments or intervene ”.
