{"id":193,"date":"2020-11-11T14:35:58","date_gmt":"2020-11-11T14:35:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/amnewsworld.com\/?p=193"},"modified":"2020-11-11T14:35:58","modified_gmt":"2020-11-11T14:35:58","slug":"hong-kong-pro-democracy-lawmakers-resign-as-beijing-moves-to-quash-opposition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.amnewsworld.com\/fi\/hong-kong-pro-democracy-lawmakers-resign-as-beijing-moves-to-quash-opposition\/","title":{"rendered":"Hong Kong pro-democracy lawmakers resign as Beijing moves to quash opposition"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hong\u00a0Kong’s pro-democracy opposition lawmakers said on Wednesday they will resign in protest against the dismissal of four of their colleagues from the city assembly after Beijing gave local authorities new powers to further curb dissent.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Chinese parliament adopted a resolution earlier in the day allowing the city’s executive to expel legislators deemed to be advocating\u00a0Hong\u00a0Kong\u00a0independence, colluding with foreign forces or threatening national security, without having to go through the courts.<\/p>\n

Shortly after, the local government announced the disqualification of four assembly members who had previously been barred from running for re-election as authorities deemed their pledge of allegiance to\u00a0Hong\u00a0Kong\u00a0was not sincere.<\/p>\n

The moves will raise further concern in the West about the level of\u00a0Hong\u00a0Kong’s autonomy, promised under a “one country, two systems” formula when Britain ended its colonial rule and handed\u00a0Hong\u00a0Kong\u00a0back to\u00a0China\u00a0in 1997.<\/p>\n

“We can no longer tell the world that we still have ‘one country, two systems, this declares its official death,” Democratic Party chairman Wu Chi-Wai told a news conference which started with all opposition lawmakers holding hands.<\/p>\n

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‘We stand for the people of Hong Kong,’ says Democratic Party chairman<\/div>\n
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Opposition members of the city assembly, all part of the moderate old guard of democrats, say they have tried to make a stand against what many people in\u00a0Hong\u00a0Kong\u00a0see as Beijing’s whittling away of freedoms and institutional checks and balances, despite a promise of a high degree of autonomy.<\/p>\n

“My mission as a legislator to fight for democracy and freedom cannot continue but I would certainly go along if\u00a0Hong\u00a0Kong\u00a0people continue to fight for the core values of\u00a0Hong\u00a0Kong,” one of the disqualified assembly members, Kwok Ka-Ki, told reporters.<\/p>\n

China denies curbing rights and freedoms in the global financial hub, but authorities in\u00a0Hong\u00a0Kong\u00a0and Beijing have moved swiftly to stifle dissent after anti-government protests flared in June last year and plunged the city into crisis.<\/p>\n

The city government said in a statement the four legislators\u00a0\u2014 Kwok, Alvin Yeung, Dennis Kwok and Kenneth Leung \u2014 were expelled from the assembly for endangering national security.<\/p>\n

Hong\u00a0Kong’s Beijing-backed leader,\u00a0Carrie Lam, later told a briefing she welcomed diverse opinion in the 70-seat legislature but the law had to be applied.<\/p>\n

“We could not allow members of a Legislative Council who have been judged in accordance with the law that they could not fulfil the requirement and the prerequisite for serving on the Legislative Council to continue to operate,” she said.<\/p>\n

Shortly after the disqualifications, China’s representative office in the city said\u00a0Hong\u00a0Kong\u00a0had to be ruled by loyalists.<\/p>\n

“The political rule that\u00a0Hong\u00a0Kong\u00a0must be governed by patriots shall be firmly guarded,” the Liaison Office said in a statement.<\/p>\n

Damned either way<\/strong><\/p>\n

Analysts say mass resignations remove democracy activists’ access to a forum where they could question policymakers and make them more accountable to public opinion.<\/p>\n

But staying could have been perceived by their supporters as legitimizing Beijing’s move and led to discord.<\/p>\n

“Both staying and leaving have their own difficulties,” said Ma Ngok, associate professor of government and public administration at Chinese University of\u00a0Hong\u00a0Kong.<\/p>\n

Concern about\u00a0Hong\u00a0Kong’s promised high autonomy, which underpins its role as an international financial centre, has grown since June 30, when Beijing imposed national security legislation on the city.<\/p>\n

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The law punishes anything China considers subversion, secessionism, terrorism or collusion with foreign forces with up to life in prison.<\/p>\n