Hong Kong court disqualifies pro-democracy lawmakers

Hong Kong's High Court has disqualified four lawmakers who protested against Beijing when they were sworn into the city's Legislative Council.

They were found to have improperly taken their oaths of office in 2016. The ruling comes just weeks after Chinese President Xi Jinping warned Hong Kong against challenging the mainland's authority over the city.

Edward Yiu added extra lines to his oath, saying he would "fight for genuine universal suffrage", Lau Siu-lai read her oath in slow motion, taking almost 10 minutes Leung Kwow-hung brought to the stage a yellow umbrella that symbolised the pro-democracy Umbrella Movement of 2014.

He also ripped up an "831 ruling," a reference to Beijing's white paper which determined the framework in which the city's chief executive was to be elected Nathan Law, one of the student leaders of the 2014 protests, quoted Mahatma Gandhi before taking his oath, saying "you can never imprison my mind"

The ruling is a serious blow to the pro-democracy bloc in the Legislative Council and will affect its bargaining power.

Source: Duta

UCJ, UNILORIN.