Justice finally prevailed: Top liaison official
The central government’s top liaison official in Hong Kong on Wednesday said the court decision to disqualify lawmakers who had violated the oath-taking laws, and rulings against rioters who participated in last year’s Mong Kok riot, brought back justice to Hong Kong society.
“Justice finally prevailed,” said Zhang Xiaoming, director of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, quoting the old saying that “rainbow always appears after storms”.
He was speaking at the launching ceremony of a preparatory committee for National Day celebrations in Hong Kong.
The city’s High Court disqualified the four lawmakers — “Long Hair” Leung Kwokhung, Nathan Law Kwunchung, Lau Siu-lai and Edward Yiu Chung-yim — from the Legislative Council on July 14 for violating the
The rulings (on disqualified lawmakers and Mong Kok rioters) helped consolidate Hong Kong people’s understanding of the ‘one country, two systems’ principle, prompted a righteous spirit and helped perfect the legal system.” Zhang Xiaoming,
legal oath-taking requirements when being sworn in last year.
On Aug 7, the District Court sentenced two people to three years in prison and one to a training center — a rehabilitation-like institution where convicted young people learn vocational skills — for involvement in the Mong Kok riot on Lunar New Year last year.
By citing the two cases, Zhang stressed that justice has been asserted and the rule of law was safeguarded in Hong Kong.
He admitted that some debates and wrangling had emerged in society over the past five years. However, the turbulence was a temporary phenomenon on the historic stage, Zhang said.
On the bright side, the rulings helped consolidate Hong Kong people’s understanding of the “one country, two systems” principle, prompted a righteous spirit and helped perfect the legal system, Zhang said.
The liaison official mentioned the interpretation made last year by the nation’s top legislature — National People’s Congress Standing Committee — regarding Article 104 of the Basic Law, which regulates the requirements on oaths taken by all officials in Hong Kong.
Zhang expressed delight that the new-term government has begun its work smoothly, and the city was heading in a positive direction.
As the city has appointed 10 under secretaries and eight political assistants, Zhang expects that the “more completed” administration can deliver better work for the city.
Zhang also expressed his goodwill toward the co-location arrangement for boundary control at the West Kowloon terminus for the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link which is expected to start running in the third quarter next year.
He observed public support for the plan, stressing it will bring convenience to Hong Kong people and longterm benefits to the city.