In an unprecedented move, China’s Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPCSC) intervened in a Hong Kong High Court decision, effectively banning two pro-independence legislators – Sixtus Leung and Yau Wai-ching of the radical anti-China Youngspiration party – from office.
During the swearing-in ceremony in October, Sixtus Leung and Yau Wai-ching reportedly altered their oaths. Both lawmakers used derogatory terms for China and draped themselves in banners reading “Hong Kong is not China.” On Thursday, Hong Kong’s High Court ordered an investigation into the legality of their oaths. A day later, China decided to step in.
Unsolicited intervention
Beijing has interpreted Hong Kong’s mini-constitution, or the Basic Law, in the past, but not without a formal request from Hong Kong’s government or its judiciary. It is also the first time that the Standing Committee has stepped in during an ongoing judicial process, undermining the independence of Hong Kong’s legal system. The move is seen to have put Hong Kong’s special “one country, two states” status in jeopardy which is protected by the Basic Law.
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I am surprised it has taken this long. In time Hong Kong will be made fully Chinese.