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Prominent Hong Kong lawmaker Dennis Kwok, ousted after Beijing ruling, says he is leaving politics
- Dennis Kwok announces retirement from political life after he was disqualified under new powers granted to local authorities to unseat legislators
- But the Civic Party he helped to found vows to continue pushing for reforms through its presence in the district councils
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Ousted legislator Dennis Kwok has become the first prominent opposition figure to withdraw from politics in Hong Kong following a decision by Beijing on the disqualification of lawmakers.
But the pro-democracy Civic Party that he helped found would continue to operate, its chairman Alan Leong Kah-kit said.
Kwok revealed his decision during a televised interview on Saturday, 10 days after China’s top legislative body adopted a resolution that allowed local authorities to remove lawmakers deemed to have breached their duty of allegiance or engaged in acts that threatened national security. Kwok was immediately unseated, along with party colleagues Alvin Yeung Ngok-kiu and Kwok Ka-ki, as well as Kenneth Leung of the Professionals Guild.
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The four were originally disqualified in July from contesting the Legislative Council elections – which were later postponed for a year due to the coronavirus pandemic – for calling on foreign governments to sanction Beijing and Hong Kong over alleged human rights violations during anti-government protests last year. But they were allowed to carry on and serve out the extended one-year term.
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Following the disqualification of the four opposition lawmakers, the remaining 15 members of the bloc declared they were resigning.
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