Advertisement
Mainland Chinese support for Basic Law interpretation would outweigh Hong Kong’s protest, senior Beijing adviser claims
Maria Tam’s latest comments on Legco oath row come as Hongkongers prepare to march against intervention by National People’s Congress
Reading Time:3 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
If mainland Chinese were to stage a rally in support of Beijing’s intervention in the Hong Kong oath-taking controversy, its “turnout would be bigger than” that of Hong Kong’s protest on the matter later Sunday afternoon, a senior central government adviser claimed.
Maria Tam Wai-chu, a Hong Kong deputy to the National People’s Congress and a member of its Basic Law Committee, was speaking hours before activists were set to march from Wan Chai to Central to protest against the NPC’s interpretation of Basic Law’s Article 104.
Advertisement
The article states that when lawmakers take office, they must swear allegiance to Hong Kong as part of China.
The interpretation is likely to be approved by the NPC’s Standing Committee on Monday morning, outlining the rules of oath-taking and asserting that non-compliance means disqualification.
Advertisement
Controversy erupted last month when two pro-independence lawmakers in Hong Kong, Sixtus Baggio Leung Chung-hang and Yau Wai-ching, were accused of using derogatory language when referring to China when they were being sworn into the Legislative Council. Their oaths were invalidated.
Advertisement
Select Voice
Choose your listening speed
Get through articles 2x faster
1.25x
250 WPM
Slow
Average
Fast
1.25x