Disqualification of 4 HK legislators explained

THE standing committee of the National People’s Congress, or NPCSC, on Nov. 11, 2020 made a decision on the qualification of members of the Legislative Council (LegCo) of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR). The HKSAR government accordingly announced that four members of the sixth-term LegCo were disqualified from being LegCo members. You may be following the relevant news and development. I would like to take this opportunity to apprise you of the rationale for this decision and the relevant background.

Hong Kong is an inalienable part of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Article 12 of the Basic Law of the HKSAR of the PRC stipulates that the HKSAR shall be a local administrative region of the PRC, which shall enjoy a high degree of autonomy and come directly under the Central People’s Government (CPG). Article 104 of the Basic Law requires designated public officers, including LegCo members when assuming office, to swear to uphold the Basic Law and swear allegiance to the HKSAR in accordance with the law. Such requirements are also the legal prerequisite and conditions for an individual to run for election, as prescribed in Hong Kong’s relevant local legislation. Previous court rulings have confirmed that these legal prerequisites are substantive.