《TAIPEI TIMES 焦點》 HK legislators lose legal battle on oaths

HUMILIATING: Justice Thomas Au said that Leung and Yau had tried to make a mockery of China, adding that his ruling was not swayed by Beijing’s intervention

/ AP, HONG KONG

Two newly elected Hong Kong pro-independence lawmakers who altered their oaths by adding anti-China insults were disqualified from taking office in a court decision yesterday.

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A Hong Kong High Court judge ruled that Sixtus “Baggio” Leung （梁頌恆） and Yau Wai-ching （游蕙禎） of the Youngspiration party violated a section of the territory’s mini-constitution, the Basic Law, as well as laws covering oaths taken by officials.

However, High Court Justice Thomas Au （區慶祥） said that his decision was not influenced by Beijing’s controversial intervention on Monday last week in the dispute aimed at blocking the two from getting a second chance.

The judge sided with Hong Kong Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying （梁振英） and Hong Kong Secretary for Justice Rimsky Yuen （袁國強）, who had filed a legal challenge aimed at preventing the two from taking their seats, arguing that they had effectively declined to take their oaths by distorting them at the swearing-in ceremony on Oct. 12.

Provocative tactics by Leung, 30, and Yau, 25, also included displaying a flag with “Hong Kong is Not China” printed on it and using an old-fashioned derogatory Japanese term for China. Yau inserted a curse word into her pledge, while Leung crossed his fingers.

“By seeking to make a mockery of China and the People’s Republic of China in a derogatory and humiliating manner, it is objectively plain that Mr Leung and Ms Yau refused to pledge allegiance to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region as an inalienable part of the People’s Republic of China,” the judge said.

In an unprecedented step, Beijing handed down its own interpretation of the Basic Law, circumventing Hong Kong’s courts and raising fears that the territory’s wide autonomy and independent judiciary under Chinese rule were being undermined.

The Chinese National People’s Congress Standing Committee sparked protests with its decision that under the Basic Law, anyone who does not take their oath accurately, “sincerely and solemnly” should be barred from office.

While Hong Kong courts are required to enforce such rulings, Au said he would have come to the same decision regardless of Beijing’s interpretation.

“The government used a lot of ways to put pressure on the court,” she told reporters. “The court made this judgment after coming under heavy pressure and the result is what we have expected.”

TAIPEI REACTS

Authorities should respect Hong Kongers’ pursuit of democracy and engage in dialogue rather than stripping elected lawmakers of their rights, Democratic Progressive Party （DPP） spokesman Wang Min-sheng （王閔生） said in Taipei.

The rights of Hong Kongers to elect councilors and practice representative democracy must be protected by law, Wang said.

Authorities have deprived Leung and Yau of their rights to hold office and represent their constituencies, a setback for Hong Kong’s democracy, Wang added.

Freedom, democracy and human rights are universal values, he said, adding that the DPP urges Beijing and Hong Kong to listen to calls for democracy and freedom and allow the territory to develop in a peaceful fashion.

The court’s decision might indicate that the rule of law has started to restrict the territory’s independence, New Power Party Legislator Hsu Yung-ming （徐永明） said, adding that as the ruling also negates the results of a democratic election, it is a lose-lose scenario for Hong Kong’s judiciary and democracy.

Beijing’s actions toward Hong Kong show that it has deep concerns about independence movements in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Tibet, he added.

Presidential Office spokesman Alex Huang （黃重諺） said Hong Kongers expect to have the freedom to choose their political system and way of life, adding that China should adopt a “positive attitude” toward their ideas and aspirations.

Instead of trying to stifle Hong Kongers’ aspirations for freedom and democracy, China should seek to talk and communicate with them with patience, Huang said.

Additional reporting by Chen Wei-han, Cheng Hung-ta and CNA

新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES