Hong Kong’s legislature in total gridlock as pro-establishment walkout leaves localists unable to retake oaths
Youngspiration pair Sixtus Baggio Leung and Yau Wai-Ching said they would not bow to demands for an apology
Two pro-independence lawmakers were unable to retake their oaths yesterday after their pro-establishment rivals forced the session to be aborted by walking out, plunging the Legislative Council into further paralysis and uncertainty at the beginning of its new term.
In denying the localists a second chance to be sworn in, after they insulted China and referred to Hong Kong as a “nation” when they modified their oaths last week, pro-establishment politicians were hailed yesterday as “lawmakers who love the country and love Hong Kong” by state news agency Xinhua.
But their political opponents accused them of siding with the administration in letting it interfere in the legislature’s operation – using, in an ironic role reversal, the same tactics that the pan-democrats are known for.
Watch: The Legco walkout drama
Secretary for Justice Rimsky Yuen Kwok-keung dismissed accusations that the government had damaged the separation of powers by mounting a legal challenge the night before the Legco meeting to bar the localists from retaking their oaths.
