Pro-establishment figure says ‘sincere’ pledge of allegiance to Hong Kong should suffice for vetting, others call for national security police to get involved

Jat Sew-tong, who once led the Independent Police Complaints Council, is among the more liberal voices within the bloc calling for objective criteria to guide a new Beijing-mandated vetting committee

Others in the camp, meanwhile, have offered their visions for a more muscular body to verify would-be candidates’ loyalty

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Jat Sew-tong, the former head of a police oversight body, has said that only ‘substantial evidence’ of wrongdoing should be enough to bar candidates from office. Photo: Edward Wong

Published: 9:02pm, 12 Mar 2021Updated: 9:02pm, 12 Mar 2021

A new top-level committee for vetting the loyalty of political hopefuls should accept a sincere pledge of allegiance as a “sufficient requirement” for running for public office, unless evidence shows a candidate has significantly harmed Hong Kong’s interests, the former head of a police oversight body has said.

Senior Counsel Jat Sew-tong, who once led the Independent Police Complaints Council, was among the more liberal voices within the pro-establishment bloc on Friday calling for objective criteria to guide the new vetting committee, as was Shui On group chairman Vincent Lo Hong-shui, who suggested a transparent mechanism for appealing the powerful body’s decisions.

However, their remarks appeared to differ from those of some heavyweights within the camp, who suggested that not only should election hopefuls’ pasts be scrutinised to ensure only “patriots” governed Hong Kong, but national security police should also lend a hand.

Jat, a veteran lawyer who has seldom spoken publicly about politics, floated his ideas on how the new committee should define “patriots” at a seminar on Friday held by the Our Hong Kong Foundation, a think tank founded by former city leader Tung Chee-hwa.

“We shall declare one as ‘unpatriotic’ only if reliable, substantial evidence was present to show [potential candidates] harmed the interests of Hong Kong,” he said. “Pledging allegiance to Hong Kong and the Basic Law sincerely should be a fundamental and sufficient requirement.”

According to a resolution passed by the National People’s Congress on Thursday, the new “candidate qualification review committee” would be established as part of the city's electoral overhaul to vet the eligibility of anyone who wishes to run for chief executive, the Election Committee or the Legislative Council to ensure that only “patriots” administered Hong Kong.

The scope of the gatekeeping body’s powers, as well as its composition, remains unclear, and the details of how its duties would differ from existing mechanisms to review the qualifications of candidates for office is still unknown.