Hong Kong district councillor loses seat after failing to take oath, 7 others being investigated over doubts about validity of pledge
- Secretary for Home Affairs Caspar Tsui had previously vowed to ‘follow up if we have any doubt about any member’s oath’
- While seven opposition councillors are being investigated over such doubts, seven others had their oaths ruled valid
Hong Kong’s home affairs minister on Friday ordered seven opposition district councillors to submit additional information about their work after determining there were doubts about the validity of their oaths of office.
The inquiries were revealed just hours after opposition district councillor Peter Choi Chi-keung was unseated with immediate effect for declining to join 14 of his allies in taking the oath.
A total of 24 members from four district councils on Hong Kong Island became the first batch of municipal-level politicians to take the oaths of office on Friday under a national security law requirement that all public officers pledge to uphold the Basic Law and bear allegiance to the city as a special administrative region of China.
In a statement, the Home Affairs Bureau confirmed the validity of 17 district councillors’ oaths, including those of seven opposition members.
However, the other seven in the bloc – including Wan Chai District Council chairwoman Clarisse Yeung Suet-ying and Southern district councillor Michael Pang Cheuk-kei – must submit more information to prove they can fulfil the allegiance requirement.
