More than 200 local Hong Kong elected officials resigned, after the loyalty oath of a dozen councilors on Friday, to protest against this verification process, wanted by the government.
In a closed-door ceremony, 24 first advisers were sworn in, according to the government. “If we have any doubts about the swearing in of some councilors and we cannot fully trust their loyalty and allegiance, we will give them a chance to explain…. If their oaths are not valid, they will be disqualified, ”Chief Executive Carrie Lam said earlier this week.
No oath, no seat
Similar swearing-in ceremonies were held for other sectors, including civil servants, government officials and parliamentarians. Some 180 district councilors are expected to sacrifice for the exercise in the coming weeks, and those who refuse to run will lose their seats. The majority of elected District Councilors preferred to resign rather than go through this verification process.
So far, 260, or more than half of the 452 elected members, have given up their mandate. The swearing in has “become the regime’s tool to keep you on a leash,” said Debbie Chan, former district councilor, who resigned in July. “They want to eliminate the pro-democracy camp in Hong Kong.”
Advisors scrutinized
District councilors are the only people Hong Kong people can elect entirely by direct universal suffrage. They take care of local issues such as bus lines, garbage collection and playgrounds. But they have also become the symbol of the residents’ desire to have more of a say in the management of their city. At the end of 2019, after several months of intense demonstrations for democracy, opposition candidates critical of the Chinese regime won a landslide victory.
China responded by cracking down on dissent and overhauling the city’s political system by reducing the number of elected officials and scrutinizing politicians and their patriotism. Since the 2019 protests, China has imposed a national security law that criminalized much of the dissent and began to reshape Hong Kong into its authoritarian image. Several district councilors have been charged with crimes against national security. Many more fled abroad.