In a setback for Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement, 12 candidates were disqualified from the coming Legislative Council (LegCo) elections including prominent activist Joshua Wong and Civic Party leader Alvin Yeung, as the government says they are not fit for office as lawmakers cannot, among others things, object to the national security law.
In a statement from the Hong Kong government, it was said that candidates must uphold the Basic Law and that they cannot be considered fit for office if they advocate for Hong Kong’s independence, solicit intervention by foreign governments in Hong Kong’s affairs, object to the national security law or express intentions to “indiscriminately” vote down legislative proposals of the Hong Kong government.
The government justified its action, saying there was “no question of any political censorship, restriction of the freedom of speech or deprivation of the right to stand for elections as alleged by some members of the community”. It warned that more nominations could be invalidated.
Amnesty International released a statement calling the mass disqualification of candidates a ”violation of the rights to freedom of expression and association” and one that reeks of “political repression”.
“These disqualifications appear to be arbitrary, given that the authorities’ own justification makes clear their intention to punish peaceful criticism and advocacy of opposing views,” Amnesty International Hong Kong Programme Manager Lam Cho Ming said in a statement.
Joshua Wong tweeted the disqualification notice saying, “I was just disqualified from LegCo election, despite being the biggest winner in #Hkprimaries...Few minutes ago, I was just disqualified from running in the upcoming LegCo election in #HongKong, even though I got the highest vote share in the primary, w/ 30000+ votes obtained”.
“The excuse they use is that I describe #nationalsecuritylaw as a draconian law, which shows that I do not support this sweeping law,” he tweeted, adding, “Despite 610,000+ #Hongkongers voting in #HK’s primary, #Beijing now staged the biggest-ever crackdowns on the city’s election, by disqualifying nearly all pro-democracy runners, from young progressive groups to traditional moderate parties.”
Wong was referring to a round of informal primaries held among the pro-democracy camp, with the aim of narrowing down candidates for the election so as to present a unified vote that could result in a 35-seat majority in the LegCo—which would allow pro-democracy lawmakers to vote down legislations deemed antithetical to their interests or that were promoted by Beijing.
“Clealy [sic], #Beijing shows a total disregard for the will of the #Hongkongers, tramples upon the city’s last pillar of vanishing autonomy and attempts to keep #HK’s legislature under its firm grip,” Wong tweeted, adding that Hong Kongers will not surrender and that the resistance would continue, calling for the world to stand with them in the upcoming uphill battle.
The move come as four students were arrested under the national security law for social media posts “inciting secession”, and days after Hong Kong University professor Benny Tai was voted out of his position.
