After Beijing’s decision: Hong Kong excludes four opposition politicians

The Hong Kong government expelled four pro-democracy MPs from parliament who allegedly broke the oath. Beijing had previously ruled that the seat could be withdrawn without a court order.

Hong Kong expelled four democratic opposition politicians from the SAR parliament. The Hong Kong government announced that Alvin Yeung, Kwok Ka-ki, Dennis Kwok and Kenneth Leung have been stripped of their seats following a Beijing decision. The government said the four politicians would lose their mandate “with immediate effect”.

Beijing: post withdrawal possible without a court order

China’s state-owned Xinhua News Agency previously issued a decision by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress that Hong Kong MPs could be deprived of their seats without a court order if they supported Hong Kong independence Kong, engage in activities that endanger national security or assist foreign forces in doing so. interfere in internal affairs.

The four politicians now excluded had already been excluded from the parliamentary elections in September. However, this was later canceled and postponed to next year.

For days there had been speculation about such a decision in the Chinese Special Administrative Region. Ahead of the decision to expel the MPs, an alliance of 19 Democrats on Monday threatened to withdraw from parliament as well. A decision is expected later in the day.

Disruption of parliament?

According to media reports, the four MPs violated their oath by disturbing Parliament. As reported by the Hong Kong newspaper “South China Morning Post”, they had participated in the so-called freebooters. Continuous investigations prevent a vote on legislative proposals.

Controversial security law since June

The decision of the Standing Committee of the People’s Congress is another setback for the Hong Kong democracy movement. In the summer, China passed the so-called Hong Kong Security Act, which allows authorities to crack down on any activity they believe threatens China’s national security.

It is the largest invasion of Hong Kong’s autonomy to date and confers extensive powers on the security of the Chinese state. The law has come under massive international criticism and is the largest invasion of Hong Kong’s autonomy to date.

With information from Ruth Kirchner, ARD-Studio Beijing