Bill empowering Hong Kong government to unseat ‘unpatriotic’ district councillors sails through Legislative Council
- Under the new legislation, councillors can be unseated by the secretary for home affairs if their pledges of allegiance are deemed invalid
- The secretary for justice can also initiate investigations into the past behaviour of district councillors suspected of being insufficiently unpatriotic
Hong Kong authorities have been given new powers to unseat “unpatriotic” district councillors and recover their salaries under an oath-taking bill swiftly passed by the legislature on Wednesday.
However, the Post has learned that, in order to “avoid legal challenges”, the government is not likely to require offending councillors to repay money received before the changes formally go into effect on May 21, removing a major concern among some of those who expected to be targeted under the law.
Under the new requirement, district representatives can be unseated by the oath administrator, Secretary for Home Affairs Caspar Tsui Ying-wai, if their pledges are deemed invalid.
In addition, the secretary for justice can at any time initiate an investigation into the past behaviour of district councillors suspected of being insufficiently unpatriotic. They will be suspended from their duties without pay until the inquiry is completed, at which point the case will be handed over to the courts.
A judge will then hear arguments for the defence before ruling whether the individual indeed breached the oath.
The same rule will apply to lawmakers, with the justice secretary able to initiate legal proceedings in cases where an officer was deemed to have violated their oath.