Beijing bars two H Kong ‘rebels’
BEIJING effectively barred two pro-independence lawmakers from Hong Kong’s legislature yesterday, prompting one legislator to pronounce that the city’s rule of law was “dead”.
It is the latest chapter of political turmoil for the semiautonomous city as fears grow that China is tightening its grip, and comes just over two years since Beijing issued an edict plunging Hong Kong into months of protests.
That ruling in 2014, which said candidates for city leader must be vetted by a proBeijing committee, sparked massive rallies known as the “Umbrella Movement”.
Now the city is bracing for another backlash as Beijing said it will not allow the two lawmakers to be sworn into office. China’s ruling was met with fury and dismay by prodemocracy lawmakers and commentators.
“The rule of law in Hong Kong is dead,” pro-democracy lawmaker Claudia Mo said. “It’s rule by decree. Hong Kong may need to live under fear from now on.”
Other lawmakers questioned where Beijing would draw the line and voiced concern that freedom of expression in politics would be further curtailed.
Political analyst Joseph Cheng said Beijing’s decision showed political considerations had taken precedence “over the long-term value of the preservation of the effective functioning of the rule of law” in the city.
The crisis came after rebel lawmakers Baggio Leung and Yau Wai-ching deliberately misread their oaths of office last month, inserting CONTINUED
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