All of Hong Kong’s pro-democracy lawmakers have resigned after four of their colleagues were disqualified.
On Wednesday Beijing passed a resolution allowing the city’s government to disqualify politicians deemed a threat to national security.
Shortly afterwards Hong Kong Democratic Party chairman Wu Chi-wai told reporters that they would all leave the city’s legislature.
“We… will stand with our colleagues who are disqualified,” he said.
BBC China correspondent Stephen McDonnell says this means for the first time since Hong Kong was handed back to China in 1997 its legislative body – already stacked in favour of the pro-Beijing-camp -now has virtually no dissenting voices at all.
The territory’s leader, Chief Executive Carrie Lam, is pro-Beijing and is supported by the central government there.
The move is being seen as the latest attempt by China to restrict Hong Kong’s freedoms.
China introduced a controversial and far-reaching national security law in Hong Kong in late June, which criminalised “secession, subversion and collusion with foreign forces”.
The law was introduced after years of pro-democracy and anti-Beijing protests. It has already led to several arrests of activists and has largely silenced protesters.
Hong Kong – formerly a British colony – was returned to China in 1997 under the “one country, two systems” principle, which allowed it to retain more rights and freedoms than the mainland until 2047.
The new resolution passed by China’s National People’s Congress Standing Committee says that lawmakers should be disqualified if they support Hong Kong independence, refuse to acknowledge China’s sovereignty, ask foreign forces to interfere in the city’s affairs or in other ways threaten national security.
It also allows the Hong Kong government to directly remove lawmakers without having to approach the courts.
Moments after that resolution passed, four lawmakers – Alvin Yeung, Kwok Ka-ki and Dennis Kwok of the Civic Party and Kenneth Leung of the Professionals Guild – were disqualified.
All four of them are considered moderates and they have never supported Hong Kong independence.
BBC.COM