Chair women of Hong Kong’s basic law committee calls Beijing intervention necessary

By Lobsang Tenchoe

DHARAMSALA, Nov 5: Elsie Leung Oi-sie, Chair women of Hong Kong’s basic law committee has approved Beijing’s intervention in the Hong Kong oath-taking controversy.

Amidst growing speculation that Beijing may intervene to stop Yau Wai-ching and Sixtus Leung from joining parliament for supporting for Hong Kong’s independence from China and using derogatory term to describe China while taking their oath, Elsie Leung Oi-sie said Beijing’s intervention is necessary to be fair to Tibet and Uyghur.

“The intervention is “necessary” because Beijing has to safeguard national sovereignty and unity and be “fair” to Tibet and Xinjiang when their legislators are forbidden from spreading separatist ideas,” the South China Morning Post quoted Elsie as saying.

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Yau Wai-ching and Sixtus Leung take part in the pro-democracy march at Central in Hong Kong Photo: Lam Yik Fei/ AFP

“If the central government does not make a stand to Hong Kong, how can it explain to the Xinjiang and Tibet deputies,” she added.

A front-page in-house commentary of the overseas edition of the People’s Daily echoed the same view.

Beijing’s intervention was ‘timely’ and ‘very important’ because the lawmakers who insulted the country had seriously hit the bottom-line of ‘one country, two systems’, and endangered national unity and territorial integrity, it said.

The impending Beijing intervention is seen by various parties in Hong Kong as destroying the city’s judicial independence and rule of law. Thousands of Hong Kongers took to the streets on Wednesday evening to protest against Beijing’s intervention in the oath-taking controversy.

Five lawmakers had their oaths rejected last month-for adding or subtracting words, reading too slowly, or using derogatory language.

Barring Yau Wai-ching and Sixtus Leung, the other three have retaken their oaths, and were allowed to take their seats in parliament.