Beijing to intervene in Hong Kong lawmaker oath dispute, silent protest on the way

Hong Kong’s government said today (Friday) that it was informed by China’s central government in Beijing that members of the country’s top legislative panel, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, will discuss interpreting an article in the city’s Basic Law constitution covering oaths taken by officials.

The move comes in response to a provocative display of anti-China sentiment by the two lawmakers, Sixtus Leung and Yau Wai-ching, at their swearing-in ceremony last month.

The heavy-handed response by Beijing has sparked a new flashpoint in the former British colony’s troubled relationship with its Chinese rulers.

Beijing has stepped in with its interpretation of the Basic Law on only four previous occasions, most recently in 2005. The National People’s Congress did not immediately respond to a faxed request for comment.

At a swearing-in ceremony last month, Leung and Yau of the radical Youngspiration party altered their oaths to insert a disparaging Japanese term for China. Displaying a pro-independence flag, they vowed to defend the “Hong Kong nation.” Leung crossed his fingers while Yau used the F-word in her pledge.

Their oaths were ruled invalid but attempts at a do-over have resulted in mayhem in the legislature’s weekly sessions, as the duo and fellow pro-democracy lawmakers sparred verbally with pro-Beijing rivals and brawled with security guards trying to keep them out of the chamber.

Hong Kong’s Beijing-backed government has gone to the top court this week with an unprecedented legal challenge aimed at blocking the two from taking office.

It’s unclear when the judge will make a ruling, but the Chinese government’s decision to take it one step further by bypassing the courts has fanned residents’ fears about Beijing’s tightening hold.

Worries about the erosion of the “one country, two systems” principle, which guarantees Hong Kong civil liberties such as freedom of speech and a high level of autonomy until 2047, have already been heightened by recent incidents such as the secret detention of five booksellers.

A Beijing ruling would also undermine Hong Kong’s independent courts by pressuring judges on their decisions, experts said.

“The mere threat of interpretation strongly suggests that certain officials in the Hong Kong government and Beijing are prepared to tear down Hong Kong’s civic institutions — and ‘one country, two systems’ — merely to achieve the ‘correct’ result,” said Alvin Yeung, a former Hong Kong lawyer who is now a researcher at New York University’s U.S.-Asia Law Institute.

The Hong Kong legal sector will hold Tuesday a silent march in protest of Beijing’s decision to discuss a possible interpretation of the Basic Law at the current meeting of China’s top legislative body, the HK Free Press reported today (Friday).

Article 158 of the Basic Law confers the power of interpreting Hong Kong’s mini-constitution on the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPCSC). “In other words, the NPCSC’s opinions are final and legally enforceable,” HKFP noted in the report.

“An NPCSC interpretation – which has happened on four occasions since the 1997 handover – is always controversial owing to the public perception that Beijing is undermining Hong Kong’s judicial independence,” it added.

Legal sector lawmaker Dennis Kwok Wing-hang said today (Friday) that “legal professionals in the territory will be holding a silent march to protest against the possible NPCSC interpretation of the Basic Law.”

According to HK Free Press, the march, scheduled for Tuesday 5:30pm starting at the High Court and finishing at the Court of Final Appeal, will be the fourth silent march by Hong Kong’s lawyers since the 1997 handover.

MDT/Agencies