Hong Kong’s Legco stuck in state of paralysis after meltdown
It could be weeks before the Legislative Council returns to orderly business following a day of chaotic scenes triggered by oath taking saga
Paralysis is officially the new norm for Hong Kong’s legislature. Lawmakers across the political spectrum predict at least a month of disorder before the chamber returns to the business of orderly debates and scrutiny of bills.
The Legislative Council is on course to remain in hiatus for at least another week or two as pro-government members stay firm on blocking two pro-independence lawmakers from retaking their oaths, and after the newly-elected Legco president succumbed to the mounting pressure.
Watch: Legco oath-taking crisis continues
Just half an hour into the third attempt to commence business in the newly-elected legislature yesterday, Legco president Andrew Leung Kwan-yuen halted the meeting. Localist and pan-democratic lawmakers stood united to challenge Leung while the media stormed the chamber to witness the meltdown first-hand.
Yesterday’s adjournment was prompted by localist lawmaker Cheng Chung-tai, of Civic Passion, who protested animatedly against the president’s decision to evict Youngspiration lawmakers Yau Wai-ching and Sixtus Baggio Leung Chung-hang from the chamber.
The two are the subject of a judicial review lodged by the government, which said their humiliation of the mainland, when they took their first oath, was enough to disqualify them from holding public office.
With the court case set for November 3 and the next Legco meeting on November 2, Andrew Leung is expected to uphold his decision of not allowing the duo to retake their oaths until the outcome of the judicial review.
Meanwhile, the two localists have promised a repeat of yesterday’s chaos – to walk into the chambers hidden inside the phalanx of other pan-democratic lawmakers.
Andrew Leung is giving too much leeway to the pro-establishment camp. What happened [yesterday] proved that a minority can actually become a formidable pressure.
“It is our constitutional right to take the oath. The president is depriving us of our legally protected rights,” Sixtus Leung told reporters yesterday.
Legco president Andrew Leung was criticised for backflipping on his own decision. Last week, he agreed to allow the Youngspiration pair to retake the oath, citing legal advice that not allowing a second chance could result in disastrous legal consequences.
But days later, he reversed his decision, saying he would not allow them to take an oath until the result of the judicial review was out. He said he considered pro-establishment lawmakers’ threat to walk out and put legislative affairs on hold.
Despite the Legco president’s efforts to avoid disrupting Legco proceedings, that very outcome eventually came to pass, with yesterday’s session aborted entirely.
“Andrew Leung is giving too much leeway to the pro-establishment camp. What happened [yesterday] proved that a minority can actually become a formidable pressure,” Lau Siu-lai, who was also set to retake an oath yesterday, said.
The failure to do so put Lau, who promoted self-determination in a less radical way than the Youngspiration pair, in a difficult position when she tried to commence legislative work. She said due to the lack of accreditation, she may have to attend upcoming hearings on the recent nursing home scandal as a member of the public instead of a Legco official.
But Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee, of the New People’s Party and an executive councillor, said at this stage, the price would be low for pro-establishment lawmakers to walk out because major government bills would not be tabled until late-November.
Whether Legco becomes orderly by November remains unclear. Firstly, no one knows when the High Court will hand down its ruling on the judicial review. Secondly, in the event that the government loses the case, there is the possibility that Beijing could take the hugely controversial step of issuing a reinterpretation of the Basic Law before the case reaches the Court of Final Appeal, according to Lau Siu-kai, a key Hong Kong adviser to Beijing.
Last night, Youngspiration claimed insiders of the Registration and Electoral Office told them the government was planning by-elections for three seats, immediately prompting speculation that even Lau Siu-lai’s status could come under challenge. The office said it would only arrange by-elections when Legco seats became vacant.
