Politicians in HK made to swear new loyalty oath
HONG KONG: Dozens of local community politicians in Hong Kong swore a newly required loyalty oath to China on Friday after hundreds of their colleagues quit in protest as authorities try to purge the city of “unpatriotic” elements.
District councils are the only political office in Hong Kong where all seats are directly elected by residents.
They deal with bread and butter local issues like bus routes, trash collection and playgrounds. But they have also become a symbol of residents’ urge for a greater say in how their city is run.
In late 2019, towards the end of months of huge democracy protests, opposition candidates critical of China’s rule won a landslide, hammering pro-government candidates.
China has since responded with a crackdown on dissent as well as an overhaul of the city’s political system that reduces the number of directly elected officials and vets politicians for their perceived patriotism.
Twenty-five councillors were told to take their oaths in a closed-door ceremony on Friday, but only 24 of them attended the event.
In a Facebook post published shortly before the ceremony, pro-democracy councillor Peter Choi said he “couldn’t compromise and pledge allegiance to a regime that does not value the people”.
Some 180 district councillors are expected to take oaths in the coming weeks and those who refuse to attend will lose their seats.
Activist denied bail
A court has rejected bail for the vice-chairwoman of a pro-democracy group that organises the annual June 4 rally to commemorate those who died in the crackdown in and around Beijing’s Tiananmen Square in 1989. Chow Hang Tung, 36, and other members of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements in China, were arrested this week under national security legislation after the group refused to provide information about its membership, finance and activities to police. They all pleaded not guilty.