Another 16 opposition Hong Kong district councillors disqualified over oaths of allegiance

Sixteen more opposition district councillors have been booted from office after their loyalty to the city was called into question following an oath-taking ceremony.

A spokesman for the Home Affairs Bureau on Friday said the New Territories East councillors’ oaths of allegiance had been ruled invalid after a review of answers they provided to a series of questions about various political issues, including their involvement in an unofficial opposition primary last year and protest slogans they were said to have displayed.

“After considering the written replies from the District Council members concerned and all relevant information, the oath administrator, based on the principles laid down by ... the relevant legal provisions, determined that the oaths taken by 16 District Council members were invalid,” the spokesman said.

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16 more opposition district councillors have oaths of allegiance challenged

The oath-taking requirement, previously applicable only to the most senior officials, lawmakers and judges, was expanded earlier this year to rank-and-file public servants and district councillors as part of the implementation of the Beijing-imposed national security law and efforts to ensure only “patriots” governed Hong Kong.

The district councils had been of particular concern for the authorities, as they were the last remaining stronghold of the opposition, which won control of 17 of the 18 municipal-level bodies in an election held at the height of the anti-government protests of 2019.

The 16 disqualified councillors, who first took their oaths on Monday, are: Richard Chan Chun-chit, Olive Chan Wai-ka and So Tat-leung of the Tai Po District Council; Ryan Lee Yin-ho, Lee Ka-yui, Ricky Or Yiu-lam and Valerie Wong Cheuk-nga of the Sai Kung District Council; and Raymond Li Chi-wang, William Shek, Lai Tsz-yan, Lo Tak-ming, Wong Ho-fung, Ng Kam-hung, Kudama Ng Ting-lam, George Wong Hok-lai and Cheng Tsuk-man from the Sha Tin District Council.

Two other opposition councillors – jailed activist Herman Yiu Kwan-ho of Tai Po, and Wong Hoi-ying of North district – did not attend Monday’s ceremony, and authorities have not said whether other arrangements will be made for them to take their oaths.

Since last month, 133 district councillors from across the city have been invited to take the oaths of allegiance. A total of 96 had their oaths validated by the home affairs chief, including at least 36 opposition members.

However, with the latest disqualifications, the number of opposition councillors ousted since the oath-taking ceremonies began has risen to 35, including two who were unseated after boycotting the sessions altogether.

The announcement of the fresh invalidations came as 74 district councillors from five New Territories West district councils – Tuen Mun, Yuen Long, Tsuen Wan, Kwai Tsing and the Islands – were set to take their oaths on Friday.

They will be the fourth and final batch to take part since the ceremonies began last month following the passage in May of the Public Offices (Candidacy and Taking Up Offices) (Miscellaneous Amendments) Ordinance 2021, which laid out a list of what is and is not acceptable for district councillors.

Some of the latest 16 councillors to be disqualified had been hit with questions from home affairs authorities as to why they either took part in, or lent their offices for, the unofficial primary last year for would-be opposition candidates for Legislative Council.

The Legco election, however, was subsequently postponed until this December, and 47 opposition figures have since been charged under the national security law in connection with the poll, which authorities have characterised as a subversive plot.

Other questions related to the councillors’ past acts and stances on social issues. For instance Raymond Li, chairman of the Sha Tin District Council, was asked why he had shared a video in which a flag bearing a slogan deemed pro-independence by the authorities was visible.

Riding a wave of anti-government sentiment, the opposition bloc won 392 of the 452 directly elected district council seats in the 2019 election.

However, some 260 opposition councillors have resigned in recent months after rumours circulated that they would be forced to pay back their entire accrued salaries if they were ousted over their oaths. Others have been jailed or fled the city.

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