Hong Kong oath saga: common law arguments led to lawmakers’ disqualification, rather than Beijing’s ruling
Cliff Buddle says the legal position will be even clearer as other cases and appeals come before the court but, with a line now drawn, it’s time for cool heads on all sides to prevail
Few would have predicted the dramatic series of events which followed Yau Wai-ching and Sixtus Baggio Leung Chung-hang’s offensive and pro-independence remarks at the first meeting of the legislature on October 12.
The government swiftly filed a court action to have them disqualified. Beijing then issued a binding interpretation of the Basic Law to settle the matter before the judge had given his ruling. This prompted the filing of further cases brought by various groups and individuals challenging oaths taken by Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying and 16 other lawmakers, most of them pan-democrats.
Meanwhile, around 2,000 members of the legal profession staged a rare protest march, concerned that Beijing’s intervention undermined judicial independence.