Exco member Regina Ip upstages new lawmakers by chanting slogans at Legco swearing-in
New People’s Party chairwoman abstains from Au Nok-hin’s oath-taking over ‘integrity issue’, citing pan-democrat lawmaker’s burning of copy of Basic Law in 2016
While no one made any alterations to their oath this time around, New People’s Party chairwoman and Executive Council member Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee and her party colleague Eunice Yung Hoi-yan stole the limelight by chanting slogans ahead of pan-democrat Au Nok-hin’s turn.
“Shame on burning the Basic Law!” they chanted, referring to a 2016 incident in which Au burned a copy of the city’s mini-constitution.
Ip said there was “an integrity issue” with Au, who despite the earlier stunt has claimed he would uphold the Basic Law “for the sake of qualifying”.
Earlier this month, Au, Cheng and Gary Fan Kwok-wai were elected in the Hong Kong Island, New Territories East and Kowloon West constituencies respectively. Pro-establishment politician Tony Tse Wai-chuen was elected in the architectural, surveying, planning and landscape functional constituency.
Au and Cheng, of the DAB, are first-time lawmakers, while Fan, of the NeoDemocrats, and Tse are ex-legislators who lost their seats in the general election of September 2016. Au and Tse were non-affiliated.
The newcomers take the place of four of the six pro-democracy lawmakers ousted by a local court for failing to take their oaths properly in 2016.
According to the Legislative Council Oath, an elected lawmaker needs to swear that as a Legco member, he will uphold the Basic Law, “bear allegiance to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China” and serve Hong Kong “conscientiously, dutifully, in full accordance with the law, honestly and with integrity”.
Stop this farce, let Au Nok-hin get on with the job
Au said he took the oath with mixed feelings, as his election was triggered by the disqualification saga.
The new lawmaker pledged to unite the pro-democracy bloc and “put up a good fight for Hongkongers” as – according to him – Beijing tightened its grip on the city.
Au said Tam’s remarks were an apparent attempt to “test the water” and restrict the political rights enjoyed by Hongkongers, adding that his bloc would present a united front in the face of such challenges.
The 30-year-old Southern district councillor refused to comment on Ip’s protest as the incident was part of legal proceedings, though he called on different parties to respect the election results.
Cheng defeated disqualified lawmaker Edward Yiu Chung-yim in Kowloon West to become the first pro-establishment candidate to win a legislative by-election in a geographical constituency since Hong Kong was returned from British to Chinese rule in 1997.
He said he would focus on housing, development and education issues.
In response to the slogan Chu chanted, Cheng said he had contested various elections, all of which had been held in a fair and open manner.
The oath-taking saga erupted in October 2016 when two newly elected Legco members uttered pro-independence slogans and insults against China as they were being sworn in.
The pair and four other lawmakers were later removed from their seats by a local court for failing to take the oath properly.
