Beijing’s top man in Hong Kong accuses Legco localists of treating community like ‘idiots’

Zhang Xiaoming claims oath controversy involving Sixtus Baggio Leung Chung-hang and Yau Wai-ching highlights need for patriotic education

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Zhang Xiaoming, director of Beijing’s liaison office in Hong Kong, on Saturday. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

Published: 2:15pm, 13 Nov 2016Updated: 2:16pm, 13 Nov 2016

Beijing’s top man in Hong Kong has upped the ante in the battle over political oath taking by accusing pro-independence lawmakers at the centre of the controversy of “blasphemy” and treating the wider local community like “idiots”.

Zhang Xiaoming, director of the central government’s liaison office in Hong Kong, also stated the oath-taking controversy that erupted last month highlighted the need for “patriotic education in schools”.

Speaking at the Beijing-friendly Pui Kiu Middle School’s 70th anniversary dinner in Wan Chai on Saturday, Zhang addressed the topic of “lawmakers-elect who publicly advocated Hong Kong independence”.

“Unless they are assuming all people are idiots, they could not deny that they went against the procedure and blasphemed the oath’s content,” he said.

They could not deny that they went against the procedure and blasphemed the oath’s content

Zhang Xiaoming, on certain localist lawmakers-elect

He described the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress as taking “necessary action in accordance with law and its responsibility”.