Explainer | How will Beijing’s new resolution shape the future of Hong Kong politics?

Hong Kong was thrust into uncharted waters when all opposition lawmakers announced they would quit after Beijing adopted a controversial resolution that unseated four of their colleagues on Wednesday. The 15 members of the bloc who remained in the Legislative Council said they would hand in their resignations on Thursday in accordance with an earlier threat. They accused the central government of destroying the principle that guaranteed Hong Kong significant freedom in conducting its political affairs with the new resolution that allowed local authorities to remove offending lawmakers without involving the courts. The Post sums up the key points, legal grounds and expected consequences of the move by the National People’s Congress Standing Committee. What are the key points of the decision? The resolution stipulates legislators will immediately lose their seats if they are found, in accordance with the law, to have prompted or supported Hong Kong independence, refused to endorse the country’s resumption of sovereignty over the city, sought foreign forces to meddle in local affairs or engaged in acts that jeopardise national security. The decision applies to lawmakers who were earlier banned from running in Legislative Council elections originally scheduled for September but delayed for a year due to the coronavirus pandemic. It also covers all future Legco members and candidates. The Hong Kong government will announce all disqualifications. Who are Hong Kong’s four ousted Legco members, and what exactly did they do? Who will judge whether lawmakers have breached the conditions? Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor emphasised on Wednesday that Beijing’s decision did not empower her to unseat lawmakers directly. Instead, disqualifications would be handled by various parties, including the secretary for justice, electoral officials as well as Legco, based on the Basic Law, the city’s mini-constitution, and other laws. Which laws are involved? It was not spelled out in the resolution, but Lam gave a number of examples. One was Article 35 of the Beijing-decreed national security law, which stipulates a lawmaker convicted by court of an offence endangering national security will be removed from office and disqualified from standing in elections. Also involved is section 73 of the Legislative Ordinance that states an elector or the secretary for justice can lodge legal proceedings against anyone disqualified from Legco who maintains he or she still holds a seat. The resolution also concerns Article 79 (7) of the Basic Law, which states the Legco president shall declare a member no longer qualified for office when he or she is censured for misbehaviour or breach of oath by a vote of two-thirds of the legislature. Lam also cited the Electoral Affairs Commission (Electoral Procedure) (Legislative Council) Regulation, which details the power of returning officers in ruling on the validity of a candidacy. Is filibustering banned? Taking quorum calls – requesting a headcount of lawmakers at a debate to see whether the number meets representation rules – has been the most common filibustering strategy the opposition has used since the extended legislative term began in October. More than 80 quorum calls were taken within four weeks during bill debates, leading to three adjournments of the council, according to Legco president Andrew Leung Kwan-yuen. But Lam stressed the resolution had “very little to do with filibustering”. “We would not take away members’ qualifications because they deploy certain parliamentary tactics,” she said. “We would not like to see this … but that is not the purpose of this decision at all.” But she did not rule out disqualifying lawmakers for filibustering. If the situation was so serious that “nothing could be accomplished within half a year”, authorities would review whether lawmakers were still adhering to their pledge of allegiance to the city, she said. What is next for the legislature? With 19 opposition lawmakers gone, Legco is left with two independents – Cheng Chung-tai of Civic Passion and the medical sector’s Pierre Chan – and 41 pro-establishment lawmakers. When asked about how the government would handle upcoming controversial proposals such as the ambitious Lantau Tomorrow Vision development project and the plan to allow Hongkongers living in mainland China to vote in the city’s elections, Lam said she would be “excited” if bills could be passed more efficiently. Hong Kong opposition lawmakers fear end is near for Legco protest tactics Lam, the Legco president and pro-establishment members all denied Legco would turn to a rubber-stamp council with the opposition gone. “Each member will have to account for their actions to their constituents,” Lam said. “It’s unfair to say that the pro-establishment members would become a rubber stamp. Please go ask every member who vowed to resign: why do they give up this key role to monitor the government if they regard themselves as a gatekeeper?” The convenor of the pro-establishment camp, Martin Liao Cheung-kong, said his colleagues would scrutinise government proposals “in a more critical manner” without pan-democrats taking quorum calls. “A lot of time was wasted coping with filibustering by the opposition,” Liao said. Lam ruled out holding by-elections to fill the seats immediately vacated by the four lawmakers, pointing to the general vote in nine months.