Fri, May 29, 2020 page4

• HK legislators ejected in anthem debate

  DEMOCRACY PROTESTS: One lawmaker was removed for ‘mocking’ a pro-Beijing colleague, a second one for yelling and a third for messing up the legislative floor

  • AP, HONG KONG
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  Three pro-democracy lawmakers were yesterday morning ejected from the Hong Kong Legislative Council’s chamber, disrupting the second day of debate on a contentious bill that would criminalize insulting or abusing the Chinese national anthem.

  Hong Kong Legislative Council President Andrew Leung (梁智鴻) suspended the meeting minutes after it began and ejected Legislator Eddie Chu (朱凱迪) for holding up a sarcastic sign about a pro-Beijing lawmaker that read: “Best Chairperson, Starry Lee (李慧瓊).”

  A second pro-democracy lawmaker was ejected for yelling after the meeting resumed, and then a third after rushing forward with a large plastic bottle in a cloth bag that spilled its brownish contents on the floor in front of the president’s raised dais.

  

  Hong Kong Legislator Ted Hui, center, struggles with security personnel yesterday at the main chamber of the Legislative Council during the second day of debate on a bill that would criminalize insulting or abusing the Chinese anthem.

  Photo: AP

  “We have wanted to use any method to stop this national anthem law getting passed by this legislature, which is basically controlled by the Chinese Communist Party, because the law is just another way of putting pressure on Hong Kong people,” Chu said outside the chamber.

  He said that Leung had objected to his placard calling Lee an “illegal chairperson” during Wednesday’s first day of debate, so he made a new one that called her the best chairperson instead.

  Lee was recently elected chair of the House Committee that sent the anthem bill to the full legislature for consideration. Her election, which the pro-democracy opposition contends was illegal, ended a monthslong filibuster that had prevented the committee from acting on the bill and other legislation.

  Chu was carried out by security guards, even as others protested his removal and tried to stop it.

  After the meeting restarted, pro-democracy Legislator Ray Chan (陳志全) started yelling, as Leung explained his decision to remove Chu. Leung suspended the meeting again and ordered Chan ejected, too.

  Other pro-democracy lawmakers surrounded Chan, who then hid under a table, as security officers tried to remove him. He was eventually carried out by the officers.

  A longer suspension followed the ejection of Legislator Ted Hui, who kicked the plastic bottle toward the dais after security officers tussled with him and it fell from his hands.

  Members left the chamber, security guards sprayed disinfectant and cleaning workers arrived to wipe the carpet. Then a group of firefighters in full protective gear entered and collected evidence. They appeared to take samples from the floor using swabs.

  Hui later described the contents as a rotten plant, and said he wanted Leung to feel and smell the rotting of Hong Kong’s civilization and rule of law, and of the “one country, two systems” framework that democracy activists feel is under attack by the Chinese Communist Party.

  “I wanted him to taste it, unfortunately it [fell] on the ground because I was hit by security guards,” he said.

  Hui rushed toward Leung as pro-democracy lawmakers were demanding that the president explain which rules of procedure banned sarcastic placards, and then all held up or displayed the same “Best Chairperson, Starry Lee” sign.
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