‘No other authority has right to make judgments’: China slams Hong Kong court’s ruling on anti-mask law as unconstitutional
- China’s top legislative affairs body says only Beijing has right to decide on issues of constitutionality after High Court rules mask ban contravenes Basic Law
- Analysts say Beijing is likely to intervene, with one adding it is expected to ‘act very soon’
In a stern rebuke that stunned the legal fraternity on Tuesday on its implications, the body’s spokesman, Zang Tiewei, said the High Court ruling “did not comply” with aspects of Hong Kong’s mini-constitution, the Basic Law, and the position of the National People’s Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC), the apex of the legislature.
According to the state-run Xinhua news agency, Zang, speaking on behalf of the NPCSC’s Legislative Affairs Commission, said the national legislature was the only body that could decide whether Hong Kong laws complied with the Basic Law, which provides the legal underpinnings for post-handover Hong Kong.
“[China’s] constitution and the Basic Law jointly form the constitutional foundation of [Hong Kong],” he said. “Whether Hong Kong’s laws are consistent with the Basic Law can only be judged and decided by the NPCSC. No other authority has the right to make judgments and decisions.”
The move had also “weakened” the administrative power of the city’s leader, Zang said.
In separate statements, Yang Guang, spokesman of the State Council’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office (HKMAO), Beijing’s highest policy office on Hong Kong matters, warned the court ruling would have a “serious and negative sociopolitical impact”. A spokesman for Beijing’s liaison office in Hong Kong too weighed in, urging the city’s executive, legislative and judicial branches to respect the NPCSC’s decisions when exercising their power.
The statement appears to suggest that the HK courts have no power to hold HK legislation to be invalid... If this is what was meant, it is surprising and alarming
Hong Kong’s first postcolonial chief justice Andrew Li Kwok-nang expressed fears in an interview with the Post, saying the comments coming from Beijing would be “surprising and alarming” if it meant local courts had no power to hold the city’s legislation to be invalid based on inconsistency.