Attempt to oust Legco president Andrew Leung struck down

Legislative Council president Andrew Leung Kwan-yuen escaped from the pan-democrats’ first attempt to oust him, after the agenda-setting house Committee’s head ruled against the tabling a vote of no-confidence over Leung’s handling of two localists’ oath-taking next Wednesday.

Civic Party vice-chairwoman Tanya Chan wanted to table the motion to remove Leung, after the president accepted the pro-establishment camp’s demand and banned Younspiration’s Sixtus Baggio Leung Chung-hang and Yau Wai-ching from re-taking their oath on Wednesday.

The pair triggered a political storm after they used insulting language in their original oath-taking on October 12.

“I know to table any motion next Wednesday, I have to make my request by this Tuesday,” Chan explained. “But this is a matter of urgency because the incident only happened this Wednesday.”

Eddie Chu Hoi-dick, who had questioned Leung eligibility as Legco president, agreed.

“In the past week, Leung has lost his credibility as president, and it is a matter of urgency to minimise the harm he is doing on Hong Kong by tabling and passing this motion as soon as possible,” he said.

However, the House Committee’s chairwoman Starry Lee Wai-king, who also heads the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong, the biggest pro-Beijing party in the Legco, disagreed.

“Apart from urgency, I also need to consider if lawmakers who did not attend this meeting have enough time to learn about Chan’s motion,” Lee explained. “So I decided that the motion’s tabling should be discussed again next Friday, this would not affect Chan’s rights as lawmaker.” Lee’s allies endorsed the decision.