More questions for Hong Kong lawmaker Eddie Chu over pledge of allegiance to China ahead of village elections

Chu asked to answer five additional political questions about Hong Kong’s status after submitting nomination form

Exco member Ronny Tong calls Chu’s stance contradictory as lawmaker also defended right to advocate for Hong Kong independence

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Eddie Chu hopes to participate in the rural representative election for the non-indigenous villagers’ head post at Yuen Kong Sun Tsuen, in Yuen Long. Photo: Edmond So

Published: 12:15pm, 28 Nov 2018Updated: 7:36am, 29 Nov 2018

Lawmaker Eddie Chu Hoi-dick faced more questions from election officials on his stance on Hong Kong independence and self-determination on Wednesday, despite pledging allegiance to Chinese sovereignty in his previous reply.

Chu, who hopes to participate in the rural representative election for the non-indigenous villagers’ head post at Yuen Kong Sun Tsuen, in Yuen Long, was asked to answer five additional political questions about Hong Kong’s status after submitting his nomination form last Thursday.

In his rewritten reply submitted to the authority on Tuesday, he again confirmed his opposition to Hong Kong independence but maintained that peacefully advocating for it was a right guaranteed to Hong Kong people by the Basic Law, the city’s mini-constitution.

The localist, who has in the past advocated for the city’s self-determination, said he was already a serving lawmaker.

Exco member Ronny Tong said Eddie Chu’s pledge to China was contradictory as he had also defended the right to advocate for Hong Kong’s independence. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

“I have taken an oath to uphold the Basic Law and pledged allegiance to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region,” he said on Tuesday, describing the additional questions as “political screening”.