Threat of second walkout had ‘some effect’, Legco president admits as he ponders U-turn on oath-taking saga
Andrew Leung says he will ‘examine changes in circumstances’ before deciding whether two localist lawmakers who insulted China can retake oaths on Wednesday
Threatened with another walkout by the pro-government camp, the Legislative Council president appeared on Monday to waver in his earlier decision to let two anti-China localist lawmakers retake their oaths at Wednesday’s sitting.
“I am examining the new circumstances with the secretariat – the changes [which took place] since last Wednesday,” an embattled Andrew Leung Kwan-yuen said after meeting a group of pan-democratic lawmakers on the issue. “There is no conclusion yet.”
The agenda for Wednesday’s meeting released on Monday night showed oath-taking on the agenda, but no lawmakers’ names were listed. It is unclear whether the two will be allowed to take the oath or whether the slot is meant only for another localist, Lau Siu-lai, who took too long when delivering her oath on October 12 but was later told she could retake it.
Democratic Party lawmaker James To Kun-sun dismissed Leung’s apparent change of heart as “only a political change” and said there was no new legal basis for a U-turn. He deemed the “new circumstances” to be the pro-Beijing camp’s plan to get protesters to besiege Legco on Wednesday.