Hong Kong government given green light for judicial reviews over lawmakers’ oaths
Four lawmakers now prepare for court battle after legal challenge is approved
A court letter received yesterday by Ivan Mok Ka-kit, a student who filed a related lawsuit against one of the lawmakers, said leave had been granted for the reviews, and a procedural hearing for all parties would be held a week today.
Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying and Secretary for Justice Rimsky Yuen Kwok-keung filed the lawsuit 10 minutes before court closed on Friday.
In the writs, the government accused the four of setting aside solemnity in exchange for a political showdown by slipping pro-democracy messages into their oaths.
The four are veteran activist “Long Hair” Leung Kwok-hung, former Occupy Central student leader Nathan Law Kwun-chung, lecturer Lau Siu-lai and university professor Edward Yiu Chung-yim.
Last month, a semi-official Beijing think tank claimed that up to 15 lawmakers had recited improper oaths.
None of the four advocate Hong Kong independence, but Law and Lau have called for self-determination for the city’s political future.
“We are not surprised the court granted leave,” Leung Kwok-hung said. “CY Leung is using unlimited public money to launch his political attack.”
The four said they needed time to find lawyers and financial resources to fight their legal battle, and called on supporters to join a rally on Saturday to protest against the legal challenge.
They said the rally would be the first of a series of actions, but would not reveal their other plans.
The government’s lawsuits followed the successful disqualification of pro-independence lawmakers Sixtus Baggio Leung Chung-hang and Yau Wai-ching over their oaths.
Their appeal was dismissed after the Court of Appeal held that Beijing’s interpretation of the Basic Law, which details stringent oath-taking requirements, applied to the case.
Mok, who submitted his own separate legal bid to remove Lau Siu-lai for her oath-taking, has been asked to address the court on whether he has standing to apply for a judicial review.