Helena Wong, Wu Chi-wai, Andrew Wan, Lam Cheuk-ting talk to the
media before handing in their resignation letters at the
Legislative Council in Hong Kong on November 12, 2020, after the
pro-democracy bloc said they would resign en masse in protest at
the ousting of four of their colleagues by the city’s pro-Beijing
authorities.Peter PARKS / AFP
The ousting of four pro-democracy lawmakers from Hong
Kong’s legislature was “the right medicine” for the city, China
said, telling foreign governments the issue was none of their
business.
Fifteen politicians vowed to quit in anger after their
colleagues were removed on national security grounds by the
Beijing-appointed chief executive, boosting fears that the room for
dissent in Hong Kong is shrinking.
Millions of Hong Kongers took to the streets last year in months
of disruptive protests over ebbing freedoms. Demonstrations were
stamped out by the pandemic and a swingeing new law that made
certain opinions illegal overnight.
The expulsions this week were “the right medicine that will
start a new chapter in ensuring smooth operation” of Hong Kong’s
legislature, said China’s foreign ministry in Hong Kong in a
statement dated Thursday.
“The decision is intended to guarantee normal operation of
governing bodies… and better ensure Hong Kong is governed by Hong
Kong people with a high degree of autonomy,” it said.
Britain — which handed Hong Kong back to China in 1997 —
summoned China’s ambassador in London on Thursday, accusing Beijing
of breaking international treaty obligations that guaranteed the
financial hub special status and a high degree of autonomy.
London has increasingly locked horns with China since Beijing
imposed a sweeping national security law on Hong Kong this
year.
The European Union urged the “immediate reinstatement” of the
lawmakers, and Canada said their ousting had the effect of “eroding
human rights in Hong Kong”.
China pushed back at the criticism, telling a “handful of
foreign politicians to grasp the trend of the times, keep their
hands off China’s internal affairs, stop meddling with Hong Kong
affairs in any form, and avoid going further down the wrong
path.”
London has already angered Beijing by offering Hong Kongers
holding British National Overseas passports a route to UK
citizenship by relaxing entry and residency requirements.
Hong Kong’s leader is chosen by pro-Beijing committees, but half
of the legislature’s 70 seats are directly elected, offering the
city’s 7.5 million residents a rare chance to have their voices
heard at the ballot box.
The expulsions and resignations will leave just two legislators
outside the pro-Beijing camp, both of them unaligned with either
bloc.
-AFP