Hong Kong’s highest court yesterday dismissed an appeal by two pro-independence lawmakers contesting their disqualification from the legislature, effectively ruling out their return to the political fold in the territory.
The Chinese National People’s Congress last year made a controversial interpretation of Hong Kong’s mini-constitution that effectively barred Sixtus “Baggio” Leung (梁頌恆) and Yau Wai-ching (游蕙禎) from taking office.
A Hong Kong court ruled they had not taken their oaths of office properly after inserting several digs at China. Last month, four other pro-democracy lawmakers were disqualified for improper oath-taking.
Photo: AFP
Leung and Yau said they were “deeply disappointed” by the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal’s decision after being democratically elected.
“We can be disqualified, we can even be put into jail ... but the Hong Kong people’s aspirations for freedom and democracy, fair[ness] and justice should never, never bow to Beijing,” Leung told reporters outside the court.
With Leung and Yau not taking back their legislative posts, authorities said they would start planning by-elections to fill the two vacant seats in the territory’s 70-seat Legislative Council.
“We won’t make any small political moves to achieve certain election results. It will be fair and just,” Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam (林鄭月娥) said.
Leung and Yau also face separate unlawful assembly charges over an attempt to barge into a Legislative Council meeting in November last year, which could lead to jail terms when they are sentenced later this year.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source