People Power and League of Social Democrats legislators say they won’t rule out filing for judicial review against controversial requirement
ELIZABETH CHEUNG AND PEACE CHIU
UPDATED : Friday, 15 July, 2016, 3:09pm
(From left) Lawmakers Raymond Chan, ‘Long Hair’ Leung Kwok-hung and Albert Chan speak to the media. Photo: Dickson Lee
Radical democratic lawmakers from People Power and the League of Social Democrats do not intend to sign an extra declaration required to run in the coming Legislative Council elections, saying the introduction of the new rule was politically motivated.
This came after the government announced on Thursday a controversial requirement for candidates to declare their acceptance of Hong Kong as an inalienable part of China, a surprise move that apparently targets independence advocates.
The current system already requires Legco candidates to sign a declaration in the nomination form to uphold the Basic Law and pledge allegiance to Hong Kong.
‘Accept Hong Kong is part of China or you can’t run in Legco elections’
But the new measure requires them to sign an additional form to confirm clear understanding of the mini-constitution, mainly concerning Hong Kong’s status as a special administrative region of China.
The undertaking covers the sections of the Basic Law stipulating that Hong Kong is an inalienable part of China with a high degree of autonomy, and there is no amendment that contravenes the nation’s established basic policies regarding the city.
Quite a lot of clauses in the Basic Law are also as important ... Is the commission encouraging the others to violate other clauses?
LAWMAKER ALBERT CHAN
Those who sign the declaration will be bound by it to the extent that they could face criminal sanctions if they are found to have lied.
Albert Chan Wai-yip and Raymond Chan Chi-chuen from People Power, and “Long Hair” Leung Kwok-hung from the League of Social Democrats stated that they did not intend to sign the declaration form.
“The application form and the declaration are separate, and the declaration is not part of the application,” Albert Chan said.
“Quite a lot of clauses in the Basic Law are also as important as those suggested by the Electoral Affairs Commission ... Is the commission encouraging the others to violate other clauses?” Chan continued, describing the decision as being “unjustified” and having been made with a “political motive”.
Leung criticised the requirement, saying it might enhance the power of the returning officers to limit the rights of those who planned to run in the election.
The three demanded that the commission clarify whether the declaration was part of the application form, as well as the consequences should a candidate refuse to sign the declaration.
The lawmakers said they would not reject the possibility of filing for judicial review against the new requirement.
Independence advocate Edward Leung Tin-kei, who is considering running for Legco, said on Thursday that he had decided not to sign the form after consulting lawyers, adding he would seek a judicial review if necessary.
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But veteran barrister Ronny Tong Ka-wah said Legco elections candidates hoping to overturn disqualification rulings by electoral officers through judicial review were likely to be unsuccessful. Speaking on a radio programme, Tong said that if a disqualified candidate decided to seek judicial review on the matter, he believed that the court would consider the declaration a “reasonable restriction”.
On arguments by legislators with a law background that the declaration had no legal basis, Tong said they were “completely wrong”.
He cited Section 40 of the Legislative Council Ordinance, which stipulated that a person is not validly nominated as a candidate for an election for a constituency unless the nomination form includes or is accompanied by a declaration to the effect that the person will uphold the Basic Law and pledge allegiance to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
“If you do not sign the form, that does not mean you will not be nominated, but I believe it is an important consideration [for the electoral officers],” Tong said.
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On the argument put forth by some prospective candidates that they had the right to participate in the elections, the former pan-democrat lawmaker said there was a difference between human rights, such as freedom of speech, and civil rights, such as participation in the Legco elections. He said the latter had to fall within a framework of a country’s constitution.
Tong also noted that with the additional form indicating a clear declaration, as opposed to that on the nomination form, the chances of being charged could be higher if candidates were found to have lied.
Politically speaking, Tong said, the knee-jerk reactions to the controversial move, including online criticism, would help candidates with extremist democratic, independence or self-determination ideologies increase their exposure in society.
Nomination for the Legco election will start on Saturday, and the elections will be held on September 4.
http://m.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/1990122/legco-election-nominations-radical-lawmakers-say-they-wont
