Four Hong Kong lawmakers facing disqualification win more time to prepare defence
Judge allows them an extra three weeks despite claim by government lawyers that a delay would cause uncertainty in the chief executive election
A Hong Kong court on Monday gave extra time to the four pan-democrat lawmakers caught up in the oath-taking storm to prepare a defence against lawsuits that seek to disqualify them.
Court of First Instance judge Mr Justice Thomas Au Hing-cheung stated that veteran lawmaker “Long Hair” Leung Kwok-hung, former Occupy student leader Nathan Law Kwun-chung, academic Edward Yiu Chung-yim and lecturer Lau Siu-lai would stand trial on March 1 – three weeks later than the previously scheduled date – pending their final bids to secure legal aid.
Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying and Secretary for Justice Rimsky Yuen Kwok-keung mounted a legal challenge to disqualify the four after succeeding in unseating two pro-independence lawmakers-elect, Yau Wai-ching and Sixtus Baggio Leung Chung-hang.
Baggio Leung and Yau sparked the oath-taking saga that prompted the National People’s Congress Standing Committee to issue an interpretation of the Basic Law after the pair adopted antics deemed offensive to Beijing. Au disqualified them in November.
Just days after the duo lost their first appeal, the government on December 2 moved to pursue the four lawmakers, accusing Lau of reading her oath in a slow manner and Law of raising his voice when he pronounced China during his swearing-in on October 12.
Leung Kwok-hung, of the League of Social Democrats, chanted political slogans, writs filed by the Department of Justice earlier argued, while Yiu added words to his oath.
On Monday, the government said in court that the four were Legislative Council members and therefore automatically included in the 1,194-member Election Committee that chooses the city’s new leader in March.
An extension would lead to uncertainty in the chief executive election, the government argued. Their right to legal representation could not be expanded to include choice of lawyers, it added.
But Lau said she needed more time to find a senior lawyer to argue for her.
Leung said: “The court may be forced to make an unfair ruling under the circumstances that we are not represented by good lawyers.”
He added the four were facing “unprecedented challenges” launched by the administration with the help of star lawyers. He played down the impact of their participation in the chief executive election as they would only account for a low percentage of the ballot.
After hearing arguments from all sides, Au said he would only accept Leung’s argument that the lawmaker needed to wait for the result of his legal aid application.
But the four would all be given three more weeks to prepare their case as the suits against them should be heard together to save time and costs.
