Ousted Hong Kong opposition lawmaker Edward Yiu cleared for Legco by-election as government backs off

Analysts say Beijing’s real target is Demosisto, party founded by Occupy movement activist Joshua Wong

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Former and would-be lawmaker Edward Yiu speaking outside government headquarters on Monday. Photo: David Wong

Published: 10:45pm, 29 Jan 2018Updated: 4:28pm, 20 Feb 2018

Former opposition lawmaker Edward Yiu Chung-yim was given a last-minute green light on Monday to run in the coming legislative by-election, preventing a further escalation of the political row gripping Hong Kong over the disqualification of another candidate.

Barely an hour before the nomination period ended in the afternoon, Yiu was informed by a returning officer from the Electoral Affairs Commission that he would be allowed to run for a seat in the Kowloon West constituency on March 11.

The pro-democracy politician was in danger of being barred from the race, having been stripped of his Legislative Council seat just six months ago, but political commentators said he had dodged a bullet with the government deciding to limit the fallout from the disqualification of activist Agnes Chow Ting on Saturday.

Agnes Chow Ting was disqualified from the March 11 by-election on Saturday. Photo: Felix Wong

Chow, 21, was banned from contesting a Hong Kong Island seat on the grounds that her party, Demosisto, had called for “self-determination” for the city, rendering her ineligible under restrictions to curb independence advocacy.

“The government has no reasonable grounds to bar me from running. This is a very normal, legal and reasonable result,” Yiu said. “This is nothing worth celebrating ... I seriously condemn the government’s acts of undermining the core values of the city.”