A ruling on
Monday from a top committee of China's parliament, the National People's Congress,
is expected to effectively bar the recently elected lawmakers Yau Wai-ching,
and Baggio Leung from taking office in Hong Kong's
legislature.
legislature.
The pair
pledged allegiance to the "Hong Kong nation" and displayed a
"Hong Kong is not China" banner during a swearing-in ceremony for the
city's legislative council in October. Their oaths were not accepted and their
right to re-take them is being challenged in the local courts by the Hong Kong
government.
The situation
is seen by many of Hong Kong's legal and political elite as one of the biggest
tests the financial hub has faced since its handover to China nearly two
decades ago, with some fearing its independent rule of law is under threat.
Hundreds of
police, some with riot shields and batons, and some behind temporary metal
barricades, were seen near the central government's Liaison Office,
traditionally well protected by local police, and viewed by many as a symbol of
Beijing's increasing influence on the free-wheeling city.
As police
reinforced their lines, protesters took their own precautions, some donning
masks and goggles and wrapping cling film over their eyes to protect against
pepper spray.
At least one
protester was arrested. About 20 were hit by pepper spray - some protecting
themselves with umbrellas, the symbol of the 79-day democracy protests in Hong
Kong in 2014.
"This is
about our future," said one woman, while others chanted for independence,
long a taboo subject in the global financial hub and anathema to Beijing's
Communist Party leaders.
The standing
committee of China's parliament, the National People's Congress, this weekend
discussed invoking a rarely used power to interpret Hong Kong's mini
"Basic Law" constitution to stop Yau, 25, and Leung, 30, from taking
office.
China Central
Television quoted national lawmakers as saying the pair were a threat to
China's "sovereignty and security".
"If this
kind of situation continues it will harm the immediate interests of the people
of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the interests of national
development. The central government cannot sit by indifferently," they
were quoted as saying.
As such, an
NPC interpretation was "very timely and extremely necessary", the
report said.
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.
Martin Lee, a
veteran pro-democratic figure and barrister, said Beijing's move would bind the
hands of the Hong Kong court that will hear the government's challenge against
the pair.
"(It)
makes it impossible for the court to exercise its own judgment," he said.
The Hong Kong
Bar Association has said an intervention by Beijing now would deal a
"severe blow" to the city's judicial independence and undermine
international confidence in Hong Kong's autonomy.
Earlier on
Sunday, thousands - including Yau and Leung -marched to the city's financial
district. Several hundred then pressed on to Beijing's Liaison Office.
Organizers put the numbers at 11,000; police said 8,000 turned out.
Follow Solenzo Blog on
0 Comments