Hong Kong police detain pro-independence lawmakers after China protest
Hong Kong police
have detained two former pro-independence lawmakers at their homes, amid a
widening crackdown on dissenting voices in the former British colony. The pair, Yau
Wai-ching and Sixtus “Baggio” Leung, were disqualified from the city’s
legislature late last year after a
dramatic anti-China protest during their swearing-in ceremony in
October.
During
that ceremony, Yau and Leung, who have both called for a complete split
with mainland China, altered the text of their oaths, declaring allegiance to
the “Hong Kong nation”. They also unfurled banners that said “Hong Kong is not
China” and used an expletive to refer to China. The protest enraged
officials in Beijing and led Hong Kong’s chief executive to launch an
unprecedented legal challenge, seeking to remove the pair from office.
The two lawmakers were
taken from their homes at 7am and are being interrogated over their attempt to
retake their oaths, which were declared invalid. That attempt saw the
pair storm the legislative chambers and ended in scuffles with security guards,
three of which were treated at hospital. Pro-Beijing lawmakers called the
police for assistance at the time.
Yau confirmed her
detention today in a
Facebook post. The detentions were also confirmed by their political party.
At least one of their assistants, as well as “a few volunteers”, were also
detained by police. “The actions of the
Chinese communist party and their puppets in Hong Kong are pure evil,” the
pair’s political party Youngspiration said in a statement. “Evil such as this
deprives Hong Kong people of the freedom and democracy they cherish.” “Hongkongers attempts
to achieve the democratic autonomy guaranteed in the Sino-British Joint
Declaration have been in vain,” the statement added. “We shall struggle against
evil on the streets.” Read more:
