Hong Kong opposition quits legislature after Beijing intervention
Hong Kong pan-democratic lawmakers collectively resigned on Wednesday, a stunning move that came after four other opposition legislators were ousted following an intervention by China's top decision-making body.
The mass resignation of 15 other lawmakers means that Hong Kong's legislature will operate without opposition for the remainder of its extended term, not unlike the rubber-stamp parliament in mainland China. "Today's decision shows that Beijing has completely given up on 'one country, two systems'," Wu Chi-wai, chairman of the Democratic Party, the largest opposition party in Hong Kong, said at a late afternoon news conference, referring to the framework governing the city after the 1997 handover to China from the U.K.
"We have tried our best in the past 23 years to hold China to its promise of universal suffrage," Wu said. "We will find a new path to continue to fight for democracy. We will not be defeated."
The four lawmakers from the pro-democracy camp were stripped of their seats immediately after the new resolution was passed by the National People's Congress Standing Committee, or NPCSC, and reported by the state-run Xinhua News Agency. The disqualified lawmakers Alvin Yeung, Kwok Ka-ki, Dennis Kwok and Kenneth Leung had been banned from running in Legislative Council elections that were scheduled for September due to a finding that they had failed to uphold the Basic Law, the city's constitution. Wednesday's announcement referred to this finding, which appeared to be based on the lawmakers' support for the U.S. government's Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act of 2019 and sanctions imposed on local officials in relation to last year's anti-government protests.
The legislative elections have been postponed until next year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
"There will be no future for this legislature," Leung said after the government's announcement. "The disqualifications will make Hong Kong's legislative body ineffective." In a news conference before the mass resignations, Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam defended Beijing's decision, saying that the central government had the authority to interpret the Basic Law and handle problems arising from its implementation.
"The resolution did not empower me to disqualify lawmakers," Lam said. She said that the decision was made based on the Basic Law and other ordinances, including the recently enacted national security law.
Lam said she was "excited" that government bills might be passed more quickly in the Legislative Council without opposition lawmakers but insisted it would not be a "rubber-stamp" body.
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