I won’t target more Hong Kong pan-democrats in oath-taking saga, Carrie Lam says

Chief executive was commenting on Friday’s court ruling disqualifying four pan-democrats over the way they took their oaths

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Chief Executive Carrie Lam offered an olive branch to pan-democrats. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

Published: 10:15pm, 15 Jul 2017Updated: 11:23pm, 15 Jul 2017

Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor has extended an olive branch by promising not to go after any more pan-democrat lawmakers who made improper oaths following the disqualification of four on Friday.

A day after the court ruled against the four – “Long Hair” Leung Kwok-hung, Nathan Law Kun-chung, Lau-Siu-lai and Edward Yiu Chung-yim – for improper oath taking and unseated them, Lam sought to calm worries arising from an earlier warning by a senior Beijing official about the behaviour of other lawmakers.

The head of the legal department of Beijing’s liaison office in the city, Wang Zhenmin, said 15 lawmakers had “messed up” their oaths. He did not name them.

Leung Kwok-hung (front), Nathan Law, Lau Siu-lai and Edward Yiu arrive at the Legislative Council on Saturday. Photo: Edward Wong

“My sincerity to improve relations between the executive and legislative branches remains unchanged,” Lam said on Saturday. “I absolutely have no intention or plans to open fire [at pan-democrats].”

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