Three newly elected Hong Kong lawmakers yesterday were barred from the Legislative Council after using a swearing-in ceremony to raise the contentious issues of independence and more democracy, highlighting growing defiance of Beijing.
The three are among a new generation in the territory demanding greater self-determination, at least six of whom won seats in its 70-member council in an election last month.
Two of the new lawmakers pledged allegiance to a “Hong Kong nation” and displayed a “Hong Kong is not China” banner as they took their oath.
Photo: AP
In response, the head of the Legislative Council Secretariat said he had no authority to administer the oaths to Yau Wai-ching (游蕙禎), 25, and Baggio Leung (梁頌恆), 30.
“As a member of the Legislative Council, I shall pay earnest efforts in keeping guard over the interests of the Hong Kong nation,” Leung said, just before he took his oath.
He told reporters on Tuesday that by the word “nation,” he meant a body of people, not a country.
A third legislator, surveyor Edward Yiu (姚松炎), added a line about fighting for genuine universal suffrage at the end of the official statements. His oath was also not accepted.
The oath taking is an early test of the new legislators’ determination to push independence issues in defiance of Beijing’s steadfast opposition to any such suggestion.
Legislators must complete the oath, swearing allegiance to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China, before they can take up their seats or vote.
Yau and Leung also pronounced “China” as “Chee-na,” which some legislators said sounded like a derogatory term the Japanese used while they occupied China during World War II.
The two said the supposed pronunciation was merely a quirk of their accents.
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