https://www.scmp.com/rss/322486/feed Elections for Hong Kong's Legislative Council were held on September 4, 2016, with all 70 seats up for grabs. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Former Hong Kong law professor Benny Tai Yiu-ting has been charged with illegally incurring election expenses through the purchase of newspaper adverts to promote a tactical voting scheme ahead of the 2016 Legislative Council polls.   The Occupy movement co-founder, already in jail awaiting trial under the national security law, was one of three people charged on Monday with engaging in illegal conduct during the 2016 race by racking up expenses despite not being a candidate. The investigation... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3142514/hong-kong-law-professor-activist-benny-tai-hit-corruption?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3142514/hong-kong-law-professor-activist-benny-tai-hit-corruption?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 26 Jul 2021 05:10:53 +0000 An executive for a Hong Kong taxi drivers’ association has been convicted of conspiring with his younger sister and son to bribe 36 people to vote for a pro-establishment candidate in the 2016 Legislative Council elections. Lui Ah-fook, a 47-year-old garage owner who sat on the executive committee of the Taxi Drivers and Operators Association, admitted distributing HK$1,000 to each of the 36 – including to himself and his two family members – in exchange for using their personal data to apply... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3134962/hong-kong-taxi-drivers-association-executive-convicted?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3134962/hong-kong-taxi-drivers-association-executive-convicted?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 26 May 2021 13:49:13 +0000 Two Hong Kong taxi drivers and a hospital receptionist have been jailed for up to 11 months each for bribery in the information technology constituency of the Legislative Council polls in 2016. Magistrate Peony Wong Nga-yan said the court must emphasise the importance of fair elections and impose a deterrent sentence in this serious case of corruption, which she believed was “orchestrated by someone behind the scenes”, given the detailed planning and multifarious procedures involved in its... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3124250/three-hongkongers-jailed-11-months-each-over-fraud?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3124250/three-hongkongers-jailed-11-months-each-over-fraud?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 05 Mar 2021 09:12:49 +0000 When Thomas Wong Chang-hung began his career as a social worker in Hong Kong in 2000, he saw how rarely families spent time playing together. After a hard day at work, parents had little energy left to play with their children. Kids, in turn, were increasingly addicted to mobile and electronic devices. One evening in 2009, as an experiment, Wong now 43, took several board games to a community centre in Tung Chung, a new town on Lantau Island near Hong Kong’s international airport, to play with... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3110944/politics-climate-change-menstrual-cycle-board-games-use?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3110944/politics-climate-change-menstrual-cycle-board-games-use?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 23 Nov 2020 23:15:16 +0000 An executive committee member for a Hong Kong taxi group bribed a family of four, and one daughter’s boyfriend, to vote for a certain candidate at the 2016 Legislative Council elections, a court heard on Monday. Li Lam-cheong, who sat on the executive committee of the Taxi Drivers & Operators Association, pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to engage in corrupt conduct by allegedly offering HK$1,000 (US$129) each to Chan Chun-shing, his wife, his two daughters and the elder daughter’s boyfriend... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3102432/taxi-association-official-court-over-accusations?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3102432/taxi-association-official-court-over-accusations?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 21 Sep 2020 14:09:29 +0000 Disqualified lawmaker Lau Siu-lai was denied the opportunity to respond to allegations of not genuinely upholding Hong Kong’s mini-constitution before she was barred from trying to win back her seat in the Legislative Council, a judge has observed. Mr Justice Anderson Chow Ka-ming made the remark on Thursday while hearing an election petition from Lau, who has asked the High Court to determine whether pro-establishment lawmaker Chan Hoi-yan had been duly elected to the office of Kowloon West... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3083388/disqualified-hong-kong-lawmaker-lau-siu-lai-was-denied?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3083388/disqualified-hong-kong-lawmaker-lau-siu-lai-was-denied?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 07 May 2020 14:53:51 +0000 Seven members and staff of a taxi association were among 17 charged on Thursday over vote-rigging during the Legislative Council elections in 2016. Four of them assisted some 240 ineligible voters to register for the Information Technology Functional Constituency with false qualifications, according to the Independent Commission Against Corruption. Others offered bribes of up to HK$1,000 (US$127) to 41 people to ensure they voted for a particular candidate. The defendants associated with the... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3025921/seven-members-and-staff-hong-kong-taxi-association?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3025921/seven-members-and-staff-hong-kong-taxi-association?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 05 Sep 2019 12:48:04 +0000 Hong Kong’s former chief electoral officer was told of a missing register containing the personal information of thousands of voters more than a year before he publicly denied knowledge of the incident, a watchdog has found. Wong See-man, who headed the Registration and Electoral Office (REO) and has been on leave since the end of June, was removed from the department on Wednesday in the wake of the damning report. Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Patrick Nip Tak-kuen said he... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3019965/hong-kong-election-chief-wong-see-man-informed-lost?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3019965/hong-kong-election-chief-wong-see-man-informed-lost?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 24 Jul 2019 13:55:34 +0000 Jailed Hong Kong independence advocate Edward Leung Tin-kei has given up his legal challenge against a government decision to disqualify him from running in the Legislative Council election three years ago. His lawyer Anson Wong Yu-yat told the High Court on Thursday that Leung’s challenge would likely become “academic” by the time there was a ruling as the next Legco election was in 2020. He also conceded that the chance of Leung – once the face of the city’s independence movement – winning was... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3011566/jailed-hong-kong-independence-activist-edward-leung?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3011566/jailed-hong-kong-independence-activist-edward-leung?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 23 May 2019 13:32:01 +0000 Hong Kong election authorities have contacted police after admitting they cannot find a folder containing the personal details of 8,000 voters, which is wanted as part of a law enforcement investigation. Officials said they spent all weekend searching through thousands of ballot boxes and suitcases for the register, which was connected to the Legislative Council election in September 2016. On Tuesday, Registration and Electoral Office (REO) chief Wong See-man revealed that the register had gone... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3005379/register-centre-police-investigation-containing-personal?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3005379/register-centre-police-investigation-containing-personal?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 09 Apr 2019 08:30:02 +0000 It was unacceptable for Hong Kong electoral officers to have kept residents and officials in the dark for over two years about a lost register containing the personal data of about 8,000 voters, the city’s constitutional affairs minister said on Saturday. Patrick Nip Tak-kuen spoke a day after the Registration and Electoral Office (REO) said it was “conducting a thorough search” for a register of electors used at a polling station in Tsing Yi during the 2016 Legislative Council election,... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3004955/hong-kong-minister-slams-registration-and-electoral-offices?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3004955/hong-kong-minister-slams-registration-and-electoral-offices?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 06 Apr 2019 07:30:20 +0000 Young people’s waning interest in politics following the 2014 Occupy protests and Hong Kong’s fast-greying population have led to a decline in registered voters who are younger than 61, according to analysts. The latest electoral roll released on Wednesday showed all but two of the nine age groups below the age of 61 had declined from last year. The three age groups 61 and older all showed increases. “I’m not surprised by the figures. A lot of young people have lost interest in public affairs... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2156859/hong-kong-registered-voters-not-getting-any-younger?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2156859/hong-kong-registered-voters-not-getting-any-younger?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 25 Jul 2018 23:03:01 +0000 A government suggestion of shortening polling times for Hong Kong elections has been shelved after an overwhelming number of objections from people fearing the measure would strip shift workers of their voting rights. The development came on Tuesday as the administration submitted to the Legislative Council a report which wrapped up the results of a seven-week public consultation last year on three issues related to elections. While the government had said it was open to shortening polling... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2146259/hong-kong-government-scraps-plan-shorten-voting-hours-after?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2146259/hong-kong-government-scraps-plan-shorten-voting-hours-after?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 15 May 2018 23:02:34 +0000 A Hong Kong pro-independence activist said on Thursday he had filed a belated appeal against a court ruling that upheld electoral officials’ power to bar him from elections because of his political views. Andy Chan Ho-tin, the convenor of the Hong Kong National Party, missed the April 19 deadline by five days when he filed the appeal on Tuesday. Chan claimed on Thursday he was late because he was denied legal aid on April 17 and was forced to immediately appeal against the denial. Why Agnes Chow... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2143573/hong-kong-independence-activist-files-appeal-against?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2143573/hong-kong-independence-activist-files-appeal-against?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 26 Apr 2018 23:02:41 +0000 Hong Kong’s system for electing the Legislative Council has long been the subject of debate, with calls for electoral reform and universal suffrage. But the polls themselves have generally been considered clean and fair, with the results accepted by the community. This is something the city can be proud of and it is important that it continues. The sudden rejection by election officials of some candidates for the 2016 polls created uncertainty over the application of election laws. Tuesday’s... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2133435/hong-kong-elections-judgment-welcome-delays-must-still-be?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2133435/hong-kong-elections-judgment-welcome-delays-must-still-be?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 14 Feb 2018 20:19:40 +0000 Eighteen months after he set off a media scrum outside Hong Kong’s High Court, pro-independence activist Andy Chan Ho-tin is set to return to the limelight. On Tuesday, he will hear the outcome of an election petition he lodged in September 2016, challenging the decision to ban him from contesting that year’s Legislative Council election. Back then, the lanky former student protester was barred by the returning officer. The officer was not convinced the pro-independence hardliner was sincere... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-crime/article/2132903/are-hong-kong-civil-servants-overstepping-their-powers?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-crime/article/2132903/are-hong-kong-civil-servants-overstepping-their-powers?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 12 Feb 2018 02:01:54 +0000 Hong Kong’s pan-democrat groups have suffered a gradual slide in their vote share since the 1997 handover as the pro-establishment camp enlarged its base, a Post study of election data has found. Democrats were the big winners in the first Legislative Council elections held in 1998, a year after the city returned to Chinese rule. But twenty years on, its vote share has slipped to below 60 per cent, according to a Post compilation of election statistics fromgeographical constituencies. Hong Kong... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2100963/pan-democrat-voter-share-slips-hong-kong-elections-1997?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2100963/pan-democrat-voter-share-slips-hong-kong-elections-1997?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 03 Jul 2017 00:46:53 +0000 Two disqualified pro-Hong Kong independence lawmakers-elect and their personal assistants, accused of storming into a parliamentary meeting last November, maintained their innocence before a court on Friday. Sixtus Baggio Leung Chung-hang, 30, and Yau Wai-ching, 25, and their three assistants pleaded not guilty at Eastern Court to one joint count of unlawful assembly over the storming which took place outside a conference room at the city’s Legislative Council on November 2, 2016. The three... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2095865/ousted-hong-kong-legislators-baggio-leung-and-yau-wai-ching?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2095865/ousted-hong-kong-legislators-baggio-leung-and-yau-wai-ching?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 26 May 2017 10:30:15 +0000 The election process that saw a Hong Kong independence advocate barred from running for the legislature last year amounted to a “Kafkaesque” trial that went against freedom of thought, of expression and the right to vote, a court heard on Tuesday. Andy Chan Ho-tin, one of six localist candidates prevented from running in the Legislative Council polls in September, had his lawyers run the argument in his election petition hearing at the High Court, which began yesterday. He asked the court to... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2093579/hong-kong-localist-mounts-legal-challenge-after-being-barred?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2093579/hong-kong-localist-mounts-legal-challenge-after-being-barred?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 09 May 2017 07:42:05 +0000 Hong Kong’s democracy is still far from a full-fledged one. But decades of polling experience shows that our elections are by and large open and clean. That reputation, however, has been tarnished by the arrests of 72 people linked to vote-rigging in one of the trade-based seats in the city’s legislature. The suspects, including students, housewives and drivers, allegedly received between several hundred dollars and HK$1,000 from middlemen to become members of two professional bodies in the... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2086244/integrity-our-electoral-system-must-be-protected?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2086244/integrity-our-electoral-system-must-be-protected?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 09 Apr 2017 16:53:06 +0000 Suggestions to set unified standards for approving the eligibility of voters for the Legislative Council’s information technology functional constituency were made by industry professionals back in 1996, an IT veteran said in the wake of a major anti-graft crackdown on election fraud. Professor Wong Kam-fai, former president of the Hong Kong Information Technology Joint Council, made the comment on Sunday after the graft buster last month arrested 72 people in connection with vote-rigging in the... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2086188/suggestions-made-1996-set-unified-standards-information?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2086188/suggestions-made-1996-set-unified-standards-information?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 09 Apr 2017 10:09:14 +0000 Hong Kong’s electoral office will review its security measures and supervision protocols following the theft of two laptop computers containing the personal information of 3.7 million voters, the city’s constitutional affairs minister said. Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Raymond Tam Chi-yuen also defended the Registration and Electoral Office’s decision to spend about HK$5 million on sending letters to every voter informing them about the incident. “This is the most direct and... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2086038/stolen-laptops-carrying-voter-information-triggers-security?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2086038/stolen-laptops-carrying-voter-information-triggers-security?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 08 Apr 2017 08:05:27 +0000 The Hong Kong government is facing renewed calls to reform its flawed voter registration rules after a major operation by the graft-buster exposed how easy it is to exploit loopholes in the system. The Independent Commission Against Corruption arrested 72 people in connection with vote-rigging in the information technology sector in the run-up to last year’s Legislative Council elections. Some of the suspects were accused of accepting money via middlemen to register as electors by joining two... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2084755/hong-kong-government-faces-renewed-calls-revamp-voter?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2084755/hong-kong-government-faces-renewed-calls-revamp-voter?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 04 Apr 2017 11:53:07 +0000 In the biggest crackdown on election fraud in more than 13 years, Hong Kong’s graft buster has arrested 72 people accused of vote-rigging in the information technology functional constituency in last year’s Legislative Council polls. Among those arrested last week in the operation codenamed “Snow Leopard” by the Independent Commission Against Corruption were 68 newly registered electors and four middlemen, three of whom were registered voters. Some were allegedly not eligible to be voters in the... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2084405/hong-kong-anti-graft-body-arrests-72-people-over-it-sector?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2084405/hong-kong-anti-graft-body-arrests-72-people-over-it-sector?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 03 Apr 2017 10:15:15 +0000 Four of six men arrested by police after Hong Kong lawmaker Eddie Chu Hoi-dick complained he was tailed during last year’s Legislative Council elections were charged with one joint count of loitering, police said on Thursday. The four men, aged 18 to 42, are to appear in Tuen Mun Court on Friday, police said. A force spokesman said the four were charged after police sought legal advice from the Department of Justice. “The other two men, aged 39 and 54, have been released unconditionally,” he... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-crime/article/2075499/four-men-charged-loitering-over-hong-kong-lawmakers-safety?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-crime/article/2075499/four-men-charged-loitering-over-hong-kong-lawmakers-safety?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 02 Mar 2017 09:17:13 +0000 The Chinese foreign ministry has dismissed the findings of a British report that pointed to the Legislative Council elections saga and the oath-taking row as factors that have damaged people’s confidence in the “one country, two systems” principle. Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang urged the British government to stop publishing such reports and intruding into Hong Kong’s affairs. “Hong Kong affairs are China’s internal affairs,” Geng said. “Foreign countries have no right to interfere.” Geng added... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2073841/hongkongers-confidence-one-country-two-systems-shaken-legco?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2073841/hongkongers-confidence-one-country-two-systems-shaken-legco?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 25 Feb 2017 00:03:47 +0000 Voters aged between 18 and 20 clocked the biggest surge in the turnout rate during last year’s Legislative Council elections, up 16 percentage points on the 2012 polls, new figures have revealed. But despite that bounce, elderly and middle-aged people still easily cast the lion’s share of votes. September’s polls had 150,763 more voters aged 61 or above than five years earlier, dwarfing the number of new voters aged between 18 and 40 by 11,447. It was the highest turnout since direct elections... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2066860/post-occupy-surge-young-voters-during-hong-kongs-2016-legco?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2066860/post-occupy-surge-young-voters-during-hong-kongs-2016-legco?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 31 Jan 2017 10:00:29 +0000 Candidates campaigning on an equal footing is the hallmark of open and fair elections. That is why there are spending caps and rules prohibiting bribery, vote-rigging, false claims and the like. The watchdog in charge of the city’s election is taking a step further, asking the government to consider banning those in the race from telling voters that they are pulling out. The suggestion came after a group of pan-democrats had openly abandoned canvassing at the eleventh hour when running for the... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2065540/election-candidates-should-be-allowed-adopt-their-own?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2065540/election-candidates-should-be-allowed-adopt-their-own?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 25 Jan 2017 19:40:41 +0000 Hong Kong’s election watchdog has urged the government to amend laws banning candidates from announcing they are pulling out of polls, to shore up the polls’ integrity. The call from the Electoral Affairs Commission comes months after six pro-democracy candidates, including Labour Party chairwoman Suzanne Wu Sui-shan and independent Paul Zimmerman, gave up the Legislative Council race at the last minute to consolidate votes for their allies against fierce competition from the pro-establishment... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2060963/hong-kong-poll-bosses-call-election-pull-out-ban?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2060963/hong-kong-poll-bosses-call-election-pull-out-ban?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 10 Jan 2017 14:12:59 +0000 This year, I resigned from my full-time job and stood in the Legislative Council election. Amid the chaos of Hong Kong politics, I had hoped to offer citizens an alternative, rational and moderate voice. I aspired to be a legislator who was willing to bridge divides, resume political reform and preserve order and dignity in the legislature. Regrettably, I failed to win enough support for the path of constructive democracy, a third option other than the traditional pro-establishment and... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2054780/hong-kong-must-strive-democracy-not-go-down-independence?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2054780/hong-kong-must-strive-democracy-not-go-down-independence?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 17 Dec 2016 17:08:51 +0000 The constitutional affairs bureau is inviting lawmakers’ view on whether to tighten the rules on exit and opinion polls for Legislative Council elections, after concerns were raised over whether the surveys were being used “unfairly”. Democratic Party chairman Wu Chi-wai urged the government to handle the matter cautiously, warning that too much control on polls would hinder pro-democracy candidates’ election campaigns. In the run-up to the Legco election on September 4, political groups and... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2054549/hong-kong-government-seeks-views-whether-rules-should-be?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2054549/hong-kong-government-seeks-views-whether-rules-should-be?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 14 Dec 2016 10:00:30 +0000 Hong Kong was once renowned for being a city which shunned politics in favour of the pragmatic pursuit of profit. Mainland officials would proudly describe the special administrative region as an economic rather than a political city. How things have changed. The past two turbulent years have seen unprecedented events which have polarised Hong Kong society and raised fundamental questions about the future of the “one country, two systems” concept. Thousands took to the streets during the... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/2053388/one-country-two-systems-and-vicious-circle-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/2053388/one-country-two-systems-and-vicious-circle-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 10 Dec 2016 04:46:31 +0000 Yau Wai-ching voters: Banky Yeung Ping-Kei, theatre worker “I was not expecting smart moves from Youngspiration so what they did in the oath-taking process was not surprising. I voted for them because they have no political experience and are not sophisticated with their words. I still believe only people like this can challenge the stuck and static situation in Hong Kong.” Maisie Wong, 19, year two social sciences student “The outcome of them being disqualified is actually a positive one.... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/2049328/what-people-who-voted-hong-kongs-youngspiration-pair-think-now?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/2049328/what-people-who-voted-hong-kongs-youngspiration-pair-think-now?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 27 Nov 2016 03:01:12 +0000 The disqualification of two inexperienced but high-profile pro-independence politicians from Hong Kong’s Legislative Council throws up an uncomfortable question for their supporters: isn’t a vote for localism a wasted ballot? While many of those who had backed the Youngspiration candidates Sixtus Baggio Leung Chung-hang and Yau Wai-ching in the September Legco elections said their support for the localist cause had not been swayed by their disqualification, others said they might reconsider... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/2049326/immature-and-uninspired-how-youngspiration-pair-left-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/2049326/immature-and-uninspired-how-youngspiration-pair-left-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 27 Nov 2016 01:02:38 +0000 Lo Ka-wing always moves to another carriage whenever he hears discussions in Mandarin by mainlanders as he takes the MTR to school. Born a year after the city’s handover to China, the 18-year-old Hongkonger says he has no feelings at all towards his home country. Startling as the claim may be, Lo is not alone, but one of a clutch of students at his secondary school who set up a group to advocate the idea of Hong Kong independence. “Independence is the only way out for sure as Hong Kong is never... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/2049317/whats-making-hong-kong-school-students-talk-about-independence?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/2049317/whats-making-hong-kong-school-students-talk-about-independence?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 26 Nov 2016 00:01:20 +0000 The first bid to challenge the rejection of pro-independence aspirants in the September Legislative Council elections is scheduled to be heard by the High Court in May next year after the claimant told a judge he needed more time to secure funds and legal representation. Andy Chan Ho-tin, the first candidate to be disqualified from the polls over his separatist stance who was also the first to launch an election petition against the government, had been refused legal aid, the court heard on... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2047327/barred-legco-aspirants-legal-challenge-against-poll?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2047327/barred-legco-aspirants-legal-challenge-against-poll?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 18 Nov 2016 10:20:14 +0000 The High Court ruling this week that the judiciary could intervene in the Legislative Council’s oath-taking controversy was wrong ­because the “non-intervention principle” applies in the city, lawyers for the two disqualified pro-independence lawmakers told the appeal court yesterday. They argued their case to stop the pair’s removal from the council as Legco president Andrew Leung Kwan-yuen promised not to start the by-election process before the full appeal hearing is held next Thursday. The... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2046866/disqualified-legco-duo-file-court-appeal-against-their?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2046866/disqualified-legco-duo-file-court-appeal-against-their?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 17 Nov 2016 04:45:45 +0000 The two pro-independence lawmakers disqualified over their oath-taking antics plan to file a court appeal today against their removal from Hong Kong’s legislature, even as their political rivals look to capture their vacated seats through by-elections. Legal heavyweights said ­another localist, Lau Siu-lai, could become the third lawmaker to lose her seat over her swearing-in conduct after Youngspiration’s Sixtus Baggio Leung Chung-hang and Yau Wai-ching were disqualified by the High Court on... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2046555/disqualified-localist-lawmakers-apply-court-order-preventing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2046555/disqualified-localist-lawmakers-apply-court-order-preventing?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 16 Nov 2016 07:30:15 +0000 Mainland and pro-Beijing media outlets continued their attacks on the two pro-independence lawmakers disqualified by a Hong Kong court over their oath-taking antics, saying they were “overjoyed” by their disqualification and accusing them of leading “a life of debauchery”. The ruling by the High Court on Tuesday came after Youngspiration’s Sixtus Baggio Leung Chung-hang and Yau Wai-ching carried “Hong Kong is not China” banners and used what sounded like a derogatory word for China, which had... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2046505/mainland-media-accuse-disqualified-legco-pair-leading-life?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2046505/mainland-media-accuse-disqualified-legco-pair-leading-life?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 16 Nov 2016 04:44:38 +0000 Hong Kong lawmaker Claudia Mo Man-ching is quitting the Civic Party, citing long-standing “differences” on issues such as localism with the party she co-founded 10 years ago. Mo said she would continue serving the legislature as an “independent democrat” under the label “HK First” – a two-person political alliance she formed in 2013 with then fellow legislator Gary Fan Kwok-wai of the NeoDemocrats. “I am seeking an amicable parting of the ways with the party of which I was a founding member,”... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2045825/hong-kong-lawmaker-claudia-mo-resigns-civic-party-citing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2045825/hong-kong-lawmaker-claudia-mo-resigns-civic-party-citing?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 14 Nov 2016 11:15:30 +0000 1. Adding details Sixtus Baggio Leung Chung-hang Wore a blue flag on his shoulders that read “Hong Kong is not China”. Pronounced “China” as “Chee-na”. Response: Could not be reached for comment. Yau Wai-ching Displayed a blue flag that read “Hong Kong is not China”. When reading the oath, she pronounced “The People’s Republic of China” as “The People’s Re-f*****g of Chee-na”. Response: Declined to comment on issues related to her court case on oath-taking. Edward Yiu Chung-yim Added the... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2044518/eight-types-insincere-oaths-set-out-former-beijing-official?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2044518/eight-types-insincere-oaths-set-out-former-beijing-official?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 09 Nov 2016 14:00:45 +0000 Key points from the day: > The National People’s Congress Standing Committee has clarified the definition and requirements of “swear in accordance with the law” in Article 104 of Hong Kong’s Basic Law – which covers members’ oaths – following the ongoing Legislative Council oath-taking controversy > A spokesman for the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office said: “[Beijing] will absolutely neither permit anyone advocating secession in Hong Kong – nor allow any pro-independence activists – to enter a... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2043556/beijing-passes-interpretation-hong-kongs-basic-law-legco?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2043556/beijing-passes-interpretation-hong-kongs-basic-law-legco?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 07 Nov 2016 01:30:45 +0000 Beijing is firmly against allowing pro-independence advocates to be sworn in as lawmakers, the top mainland official in Hong Kong made clear Sunday. Zhang Xiaoming said it was “appropriate” for China’s legislature to issue an interpretation of the Basic Law before a local court gave its ruling. Zhang, director of the central government’s liaison office, made the position clear at a meeting with local delegates to the ­National People’s Congress and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2043441/beijing-taking-appropriate-action-hong-kong-oath-saga-zhang?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2043441/beijing-taking-appropriate-action-hong-kong-oath-saga-zhang?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 06 Nov 2016 10:49:25 +0000 All eyes are on the mainland’s top legislative body’s imminent interpretation of Article 104 of Hong Kong’s mini-constitution on Monday to settle the issues concerning oath-taking by two pro-independence lawmakers. The Basic Law has been in place for fewer than two decades, yet the Oaths and Declarations Ordinance, the local legal instrument to implement the Basic Law provision which requires lawmakers to swear to uphold the Basic Law and swear allegiance to Hong Kong as part of the People’s... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2043302/subject-interpretation-charting-history-hong-kongs-basic-law?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2043302/subject-interpretation-charting-history-hong-kongs-basic-law?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 05 Nov 2016 06:59:56 +0000 Beijing’s top legislators have “unanimously agreed” on an intervention into Hong Kong’s oath-taking controversy to safeguard the city’s stability, it was announced by state TV on Saturday night, after it emerged they may set out the “format and conduct” for lawmakers to take their oaths and criteria for disqualification. The Xinhua news agency also revealed that the National People’s Congress Standing Committee ruling would “point out the direction in which problems arising from the Legislative... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2043282/top-national-peoples-congress-body-unites-need?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2043282/top-national-peoples-congress-body-unites-need?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 05 Nov 2016 03:45:30 +0000 Hong Kong independence advocates have not only hurt the sentiment of China’s population but the whole Chinese race around the world and must be punished by law, a commentary by the People’s Daily has said as the Beijing-controlled newspaper stepped up its attack against two localist lawmakers amid the oath-taking row. While similar commentaries were regularly published in the overseas edition of People’s Daily, the 1,000-word article, titled “Hong Kong independence a harm to the city and must... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2042626/mainland-paper-slams-hong-kong-independence-advocates-1000?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2042626/mainland-paper-slams-hong-kong-independence-advocates-1000?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 03 Nov 2016 04:45:15 +0000 The 180 voters who complained of not being able to cast their ballots in the “super seat” functional constituency in September’s Legislative Council elections had chosen not to be a voter in that category when registering, Undersecretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Ronald Chan Ngok-pang said on Wednesday. Chan made the claim in a written reply to Legco in response to public concerns over the way the election was carried out. “The (Registration and Electoral Office), after checking... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2042379/180-hong-kong-super-seat-voters-who-complained-not-being?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2042379/180-hong-kong-super-seat-voters-who-complained-not-being?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 02 Nov 2016 12:43:58 +0000 Key points today: > The fourth meeting of the Legislative Council was adjourned by Legco president Andrew Leung Kwan-yuen around 1.30pm today after four security guards were hurt when they tried to block localist lawmakers Yau Wai-ching and Sixtus Baggio Leung Chung-hang from entering a conference room where the lawmaking body had relocated. Watch: Hong Kong localists force entry into legislature for oaths > At Andrew Leung’s request, a team of police officers arrived at the chaotic scene, and... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2042246/legco-adjourned-amid-chaos-hong-kong-localists-try-retake?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2042246/legco-adjourned-amid-chaos-hong-kong-localists-try-retake?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 02 Nov 2016 02:45:15 +0000 Even as they denounce the conduct of Sixtus Baggio Leung Chung-hang and Yau Wai-ching during their first attempt at oath-taking on October 12, Beijing and the Hong Kong government may actually be thankful for their offensive antics, for they have saved the authorities (at least for now) from any trouble that may have been brought about when they formally assumed office. Before the newly elected Legislative Council was sworn in, some Hong Kong officials had apprehensions about lawmakers who... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2041570/hong-kong-localists-oath-taking-antics-only-play-hands?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2041570/hong-kong-localists-oath-taking-antics-only-play-hands?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 31 Oct 2016 07:00:27 +0000 The making of false statements by people ­involved in official ­proceedings is always a serious matter, particularly if oaths are violated. To stand in Legislative Council elections, candidates are required, under the Legislative Council Ordinance (section 40), to provide the returning officer with a “nomination form”, in which they declare that they will “uphold the Basic Law and pledge allegiance to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region”. Moreover, having made that declaration, a... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2040261/did-localist-lawmakers-oaths-row-make-false-statements?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2040261/did-localist-lawmakers-oaths-row-make-false-statements?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 27 Oct 2016 10:23:25 +0000