Hong Kong government guns for lawmaker Lau Siu-lai in oath-taking controversy
Localist was sworn in on her second try after pausing between each word on her first attempt; chief executive earlier succeeded in unseating two Youngspiration lawmakers-elect
Hong Kong’s government has decided to take a third newly elected localist lawmaker to court after succeeding in having two others disqualified for failing to take their oaths of office properly.
Watch: Lau Siu-lai takes the oath in slow-motion
Legislative Council president Andrew Leung Kwan-yuen, who gave Lau a chance to retake her oath after the first attempt was deemed inappropriate last month, was also named in the new case.
But the Justice Department stopped short of specifying what grounds it would use in the legal action. “It is not appropriate for us to provide further comments at this stage in view of possible proceedings,” the department said.
A letter from the department to the judiciary said it planned to lodge the case against Lau by the end of this week or early next week, following the appeal of the two localist lawmakers.
Yau and Baggio Leung lost their Legco seats after Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying and Secretary for Justice Rimsky Yuen Kwok-keung launched an unprecedented legal bid last month to have the two disqualified, and the High Court declared their oaths were invalid.