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Beijing ruling bars Hong Kong lawmakers from taking office

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Image copyrightEPA

Image captionYau Wai-ching (left) and Sixtus Leung (right) have refused to pledge allegiance to Beijing

Beijing has intervened in Hong Kong politics to block two elected lawmakers from taking office.

Sixtus Leung and Yau Wai-ching, who are pro-independence, have refused to pledge allegiance to Beijing when taking their oaths.

Beijing has now interpreted a section of Hong Kong law to mean any official who does not swear the oath properly cannot take office, said state media.

The move comes after weeks of chaos in the Hong Kong legislature.

There were also protests, and some scuffles, in Hong Kong on Sunday night.

The interpretation marks Beijing's most far-reaching intervention in Hong Kong since handover in 1997.

China is acting within its legal rights, but many in Hong Kong accuse it of ruling by decree.

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Mr Leung and Ms Yau belong to the Youngspiration party, which sprang from the Occupy Central pro-democracy protests of 2014. They have called for Hong Kong to break away from China entirely.

They were elected earlier this year, and have attempted to take their oaths several times, but each time have provocatively changed the wording. Their attempts included using a variation of a derogatory word for China, and displaying a pro-independence banner.

Their oaths were invalidated amid chaotic scenes in the Legislative Council (LegCo).

The interpretation from Beijing, carried by state news agency Xinhua, states that lawmakers taking their oaths must do so "sincerely and solemnly".

They must "accurately, completely and solemnly" read out the portion of the oath that swears allegiance to Beijing, it says, without using names.

Failure to do so, or a refusal to read the oath, would disqualify the lawmaker from taking office.

A spokesman for Beijing's state council was quoted by Xinhua as saying this interpretation was "absolutely necessary" and demonstrated Beijing's "firm determination and will" in opposing Hong Kong's independence.