2020 Hong Kong Legislative Council mass resignations
On 11 November 2020, 15 Hong Kong
Background
Oath taking controversy and by-election overturns
The first instance of unseating members from the Legislative Council for political reason occurred in November 2016, triggered by the
The vacancies left by the six disqualified members were filled in by the March and November by-elections in 2018. However the disqualifications of localist candidates Agnes Chow and Ventus Lau by returning officers, which had been based on their stances on allegiance and independence before the March by-election, was successfully challenged in court, on the basis of the disqualified candidates not having been given any reasonable opportunity to respond to the returning officers' questions which led to their ineligibility.[5] Similarly, the election result of the November by-election was overturned by the court regarding the returning officer's decision to disqualify Lau Siu-lai.[6] As a result, two pro-democrats Au Nok-hin and Gary Fan who were elected in March 2018 and pro-Beijing independent Chan Hoi-yan in November 2018 were unseated.[7]
Candidates' disqualification and election postponement
Another wave of disqualifications of pro-democracy candidates in the
Within a day, Chief Executive Carrie Lam announced on 31 July that she would invoke the Emergency Regulations Ordinance to postpone the September general election for a whole year citing the recent resurgence of the COVID-19 cases.[10] For the lacuna of the Legislative Council arising from the postponement, Carrie Lam sought for support and guidance by the central government.[11] Pro-democracy legislators slammed the government for using the coronavirus outbreak as an excuse to delay the vote to avoid a potential repeating defeat in the election after the 2019 District Council electoral landslide. They warned that doing so would "trigger a constitutional crisis in the city."[12][13] The pro-democrats also compared the situation to the eve of the 1997 handover when the Beijing government installed the pro-Beijing-dominated Provisional Legislative Council to counter the fully elected colonial Legislative Council. Pro-democrat legislators refused to join the provisional legislature on the grounds it was extra-constitutional and not democratically elected.[14]
On 11 August, the National People Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC) unanimously passed a decision to extend the incumbent 6th Legislative Council to extend its term for no less than one year, although it did not explain the legal basis for the extension which was in contradiction to the term limit stipulated in Article 69 of the Basic Law, neither did it mention the status of the four incumbent legislators who were barred from running by the returning officers in July.
Resigned effective on 30 September 2020
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New Territories East
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New Territories West
November NPCSC decision and resignations
On 11 November 2020, the National People Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC) ruled in a decision which bars Legislative Council members from supporting Hong Kong independence, refusing to recognise Beijing's sovereignty over Hong Kong, seeking help from "foreign countries or foreign forces to interfere in the affairs of the region" or committing "other acts that endanger national security", targeting the four sitting legislators, Alvin Yeung, Kwok Ka-ki, Dennis Kwok and Kenneth Leung whose candidacies had been invalidated by the returning officers earlier in July. Following the decision, Chief Executive Carrie Lam explained that it was the Hong Kong government who had requested Beijing's intervention in the matter, contradicting her earlier pledge not to disqualify the four legislators. On the same day, the SAR administration announced that four legislators had been stripped of their seats with immediate effect.[19] In response to the disqualification, Dennis Kwok said that "if observing due process and protecting systems...and fighting for democracy and human rights would lead to the consequences of being disqualified, it would be my honour. I say the same today...it’s been my honour to serve."[20]
In response, the 15 remaining pro-democracy legislators announced they would resign en masse in solidarity with the disqualified members. "We can no longer tell the world that we still have '
Disqualified effective on 11 November 2020
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New Territories West
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New Territories East
Resigned effective on 12 November 2020
Resigned effective on 13 November 2020
Resigned effective on 1 December 2020
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Joseph Lee (Nonpartisan)
for Health Services -
Kowloon East
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New Territories East
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New Territories West
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New Territories East
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Kowloon East
See also
- 6th Legislative Council of Hong Kong
- 2019–20 Hong Kong protests
- 2020 detainment of Hong Kong residents at sea by China
- Next Digital raid and arrests
- January 2021 arrests of Hong Kong pro-democracy activists
References
- ^ "Hong Kong's pro-democracy legislators to resign en masse". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
- ^ "Interpretation of Article 104 of the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress" (PDF). Government of Hong Kong. Retrieved 5 January 2018.
- ^ "Hong Kong court rejects appeals by 2 disqualified lawmakers". Channel NewsAsia. 30 November 2016. Archived from the original on 5 March 2017. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
- ^ Lui, Kevin (14 July 2017). "Four More Hong Kong Lawmakers Ousted in a Blow to Democratic Hopes". Time.
- ^ Creery, Jennifer (13 September 2019). "Hong Kong activist Ventus Lau wins appeal against election ban, unseats democrat Gary Fan". Hong Kong Free Press.
- ^ Siu, Jasmine; Lam, Jeffie (21 May 2020). "Ousted lawmaker Lau Siu-lai's election ban overturned by Hong Kong court". South China Morning Post.
- ^ Nip, Amy (22 May 2020). "Lau ruling ousts Chan from Legco". The Standard.
- ^ "Hong Kong bars 12 opposition candidates from election". BBC. 30 July 2020.
- ^ "立法會選舉︳一圖盤點12名被民主派DQ理由 15抗爭派6人提名無效". HK01. 30 July 2020.
- ^ "BREAKING: Hong Kong postpones legislative election citing Covid-19". Hong Kong Free Press. 31 July 2020.
- ^ "LegCo General Election postponed for a year". Hong Kong Government. 31 July 2020.
- ^ Tiezzi, Shannon (1 August 2020). "Hong Kong's Elections Were Already Rigged. Now They Won't Happen". The Diplomat.
- ^ Ramzy, Austin (31 July 2020). "Hong Kong Delays Election, Citing Coronavirus. The Opposition Isn't Buying It". The New York Times.
- ^ Cheung, Gary; Chung, Kimmy; Wong, Natalie (1 August 2020). "Hong Kong elections: by delaying vote for one year, leader throws up raft of legal and political questions". South China Morning Post.
- ^ Ho, Kelly (11 August 2020). "Beijing decides current Hong Kong lawmakers can remain on until postponed election". Hong Kong Free Press.
- ^ Lindberg, Kari; Lung, Natalie (11 August 2020). "China Extends Term of Hong Kong Lawmakers by a Year, Reports Say". Bloomberg. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
- ^ Pepper, Suzanne (3 October 2020). "To stay or go: Hong Kong democrats debate their options in sad exit for the 'class of 2016'". Hong Kong Free Press.
- ^ Wong, Natalie; Cheung, Tony (29 September 2020). "Most of Hong Kong's opposition lawmakers to serve out extended term in Legislative Council, after supporters narrowly back move in poll". South China Morning Post.
- ^ Shum, Michael; Hui, Sophie (12 November 2020). "Booted out". The Standard.
- ^ a b Kwan, Rhoda (12 November 2020). "'Death sentence' for Hong Kong democracy: NGOs, activists & gov'ts react as democrats unseated from legislature". Hong Kong Free Press.
- ^ "Hong Kong pro-democracy lawmakers resign after China ruling". BBC News. 12 November 2020.
- ^ "Explainer: How – and why – Hong Kong's legislative opposition ground to a halt". Hong Kong Free Press. 12 November 2020.
- ^ "Cheng Chung-tai and Pierre Chan remains in Legco". The Standard. 11 November 2020.