Disqualified Hong Kong lawmakers who may have to return HK$11m say Legco president should pay
Four ousted for improper oath-taking say president of legislature should be held responsible as he was ruled to be wrong in validating their pledges
The four Hong Kong legislators ousted for improper oath-taking have said that the president of the city’s legislature should be the one to repay the nearly HK$11 million in salary and allowances they may have to return, as he was ruled to be in error when he validated their pledges.
Pan-democratic lawmakers Nathan Law Kwun-chung, “Long Hair” Leung Kwok-hung, Lau Siu-lai and Edward Yiu Chung-yim were stripped of their seats on July 14 by the High Court for failing to take their members’ oaths properly last October.
Their response came after Legislative Council president Andrew Leung Kwan-yuen on Friday said legal cases abroad suggested the legislature should make claims to get back the pay and allowances given to the four, an amount adding up to about HK$11 million.
But he added that the Legco Commission was seeking outside legal advice and would make a legally sound decision.
Disqualified Hong Kong lawmakers move out of their offices but vow to return
At a press conference on Wednesday, “Long Hair” Leung said: “According to the court’s ruling, [Andrew] Leung Kwan-yuen was wrong in confirming that our oaths were valid – that’s why we lost our seats … If the commission is making any claim, it should first claim it from the president.”
On October 12, Legco secretary-general Kenneth Chen Wei-on, who had handled the oath-taking ceremony before Andrew Leung was elected president, declared that Yiu’s oath was invalid.