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Hong Kong / AFP
A Hong Kong court on Tuesday ruled to disqualify two pro-independence lawmakers from parliament, a week after Beijing said it would not allow the pair to be sworn into office as fears grow of the city’s liberties coming under threat.
Baggio Leung and Yau Wai-ching deliberately misread their oaths of office, inserted expletives and draped themselves with “Hong Kong is not China†flags during a swearing-in ceremony last month, prompting a judicial review into their future as legislators.
“Mr Leung and Ms Yau have been disqualified from assuming and have vacated the office of a member of the Legislative Council,†judge Thomas Au said in a written judgement. “The oaths purportedly taken by Mr Leung and Ms Yau on October 12 2016… are invalid and void and have no legal effect,†Au said.
Au also said the way they took their oaths showed “clearly that they did not truthfully and faithfully intend to commit themselves to uphold and abide by†the city’s constitution. “With or without (Beijing’s) interpretation, the court would reach the same conclusion,†he added.
Yau told a media scrum outside the courthouse that the ruling did not come as a surprise to her.