The National
People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing ruled that lawmakers must swear allegiance
to Hong Kong as part of China and that candidates would be disqualified if they
changed the wording of their oath of office or if they failed to take it in a
sincere
and solemn manner.
and solemn manner.
The prospect of the
ruling had sparked protests in the former British colony on Sunday. Foreign
diplomats were watching closely, stressing the importance of the rule of the
law to the city's international reputation.
.
While the
controversial decision effectively bars the two pro-independence Hong Kong
politicians from being sworn in, a court in the Chinese-ruled city must still rule
on the case, taking Beijing's decision into consideration.
The promotion of
independence has long been taboo in Hong Kong, governed under a "one
country, two systems" principle since 1997, amid fears in Beijing it could
spread among other activists and challenge the central government's rule.
"The nature of
Hong Kong independence is to split the country. It seriously violates the ‘one
country, two systems’ policy," said Li Fei, chairman of the parliament's
Basic Law Committee.
"The Central
Government is highly concerned about the grave dangers the Hong Kong
independence forces bring to the country and to Hong Kong," Li said.
Hong Kong leader
Leung Chun-ying said the city's government would fully implement China's
interpretation of the mini-constitution, although it was not immediately clear
if that meant the pro-independence pair were already disqualified from office.
The move came after
pro-independence politicians Yau Wai-ching, 25, and Baggio Leung, 30, pledged
allegiance to the "Hong Kong nation" and displayed a banner declaring
"Hong Kong is not China" during a swearing-in ceremony for the city's
legislative council in October.
Simon Young, a
professor at Hong Kong University's law school, said he was still evaluating
the ruling but it did seem to bar Leung and Yau from taking office.
"I do worry we
are only going to see more interpretations, and attempts by the NPC to flesh
out local laws, if they really want to stop the separatists," Young told
Reuters, referring to China's parliament.
Leading members of
China's parliament said on Saturday the pro-independence pair had damaged the
territory's rule of law and posed a grave threat to China's sovereignty and
security.
RULE OF LAW
The Basic Law grants
China's NPC a power of interpretation above Hong Kong's highest court. While it
has made four other rulings since the 1997 handover, this ruling is its first
move to preempt an ongoing Hong Kong court case.
Hong Kong justice
secretary Rimsky Yuen said on Monday he still believed the oath-taking
controversy could be resolved locally, but he also had every confidence that
the city's judiciary would uphold the rule of law.
Beijing's decision
came before a Hong Kong court made its ruling and represented some of the worst
privately held fears of senior judges and some government officials in Hong
Kong, according to sources close to them.
The move was
expected to enrage Hong Kong democracy activists further, a day after hundreds
of demonstrators clashed with police in running battles around China's
representative office in Hong Kong.
The scenes on Sunday
night were reminiscent of pro-democracy protests in late 2014 that paralyzed
parts of the Asian financial center and posed one of the greatest political
challenges to the central government in Beijing in decades.
"This incident
shows us the Basic Law is a handicapped legal document and the so-called mini
constitution can be amended and controlled by the Chinese Communist Party at
will," said Joshua Wong, 20, one of the leaders of the 2014 protests.
Britain returned
Hong Kong to Chinese control in 1997 under a "one country, two
systems" formula that gave the territory wide-ranging autonomy, including
judicial freedom guided by a mini-constitution called the Basic Law.
James To, a lawmaker
with the Democratic Party, said the central government had undermined Hong
Kong's judicial process.
"In future,
people's confidence in 'one country, two systems' will worsen," To said.
Reuters
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