“I told Zhang all serving legislators, including those who have been barred from seeking re-election, should be allowed to stay in the extended term of a provisional Legco,” the pro-Beijing figure said.

“It would do no harm as the pro-establishment camp enjoys a majority in the legislature.

“Zhang was open to different views and had no strong or preconceived views on the issue. But my views are among the minority within the pro-establishment camp. The majority favours banning those who have been disqualified from staying on.”

Four incumbent pan-democrat lawmakers – Alvin Yeung Ngok-kiu, Kwok Ka-ki and Dennis Kwok of the Civic Party, alongside the accountancy sector’s Kenneth Leung – were among 12 opposition hopefuls whose candidacies were declared invalid by returning officers.

Zhang, who is likely to leave the city on Tuesday, will submit a report on the legal implications of the move to office director Xia Baolong.

Beijing sends top official to discuss postponement of Legislative Council vote

Henry Tang Ying-yen, former chief secretary and a member of the Standing Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, the top advisory body, was seen at the central government’s liaison office in Sai Ying Pun on Tuesday. But he did not respond to media questions on whether he met Zhang or if they discussed Legco’s status in the coming year.

Sources said Zhang met five members of the Basic Law Committee, which advises Beijing on Hong Kong’s mini-constitution, on Sunday to get their views on the legal issues arising from the postponement.

On Friday, Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor announced that the Legco polls, originally planned for September 6, would be pushed back by a year because of the coronavirus pandemic.

China’s top legislative body, the National People’s Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC), is expected to issue a directive on legal and constitutional questions surrounding the delay – such as whether Legco’s four-year term can be extended – at the end of its next meeting, which begins on Saturday until next Tuesday.

One big question that remains is whether the four opposition lawmakers can continue to serve.

Election officials had cited the national security law and pan-democrats’ previous calls for foreign governments to sanction Beijing and Hong Kong as key reasons for their disqualification.

A pro-Beijing politician who met Zhang on Monday said the mainland official spent most of the time listening to their views and remained tight-lipped on the decision to be made by the NPCSC.

During the session attended by about 10 people, the source said, the majority view was to extend the existing term by a year.

On the issue of the four lawmakers, he said, views were split but he believed it was better to keep the arrangement simple by retaining all incumbent legislators.

“But some also noted the four were disqualified because of their close contact with foreign forces, which is a rather serious matter,” he said.

Hong Kong leader delays legislative elections, asks Beijing to resolve legal questions

Albert Chen Hung-yee, a member of the Basic Law Committee, said there might be legal grounds to ban the disqualified lawmakers from serving in the extra term, but admitted it would be difficult to enforce.

According to the NPCSC’s interpretation of Basic Law Article 104 in 2016, upholding the mini-constitution and pledging allegiance to Hong Kong as part of China are the legal requirements for running for and taking up public office.

It applies to oath-taking by public officers including principal officials, lawmakers and judges.

“But I haven’t seen anyone come up with a legally practicable mechanism to determine whether those lawmakers qualify for staying in the legislature during the provisional term,” Chen said.

“The returning officers’ disqualification of the four lawmakers from running in the election can’t be used to bar them from the extended term of the current Legco.”

Raymond Tam Chi-yuen, a Hong Kong deputy to the NPC and former secretary for constitutional and mainland affairs, had earlier suggested setting up a provisional term for one year and asking all the existing lawmakers, including the four opposition members, to take the oath again before carrying out their duties.

But Tam Yiu-chung, the city’s sole representative on the NPCSC, pointed out on Tuesday that some candidates might have signed the declaration and pledged to uphold the Basic Law and swear allegiance to the city when they registered for the race.

He added: “But the problem is the returning officers cannot trust they will do so, perhaps based on what they had done in the past. So will signing again solve the problem?”

He argued that there would be conflicts if the disqualified lawmakers were allowed to stay and expected the matter to be discussed in the standing committee’s meeting. Tam said Hong Kong affairs were not on the agenda, but extra items could be added later.

Meanwhile, in a joint statement approved by all 27 European Union members, the bloc said the postponement of the Legco elections would delay the renewal of its democratic mandate and called into question the exercise of the democratic rights and freedoms guaranteed under the Basic Law.

“The EU calls on the Hong Kong authorities to reconsider these decisions,” the statement said.

Additional reporting by Kimmy Chung