The sixth term of Legislative Council (LegCo) of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) held its first meeting on Wednesday.
In accordance with the Rules of Procedure of the LegCo, the 70 newly-elected legislators took their oaths of office one by one at the beginning of the meeting.
According to the rules, the content of the oath is "I swear that, being a member of the Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, I will uphold the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, bear allegiance to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China and serve the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region conscientiously, dutifully, in full accordance with the law, honestly and with integrity."
But three members-elect did not complete their oath-taking procedure since they added extra phrases into the oath or showed slogan violating the oath.
Chen Wei-on, the LegCo secretary general who oversaw the oath-taking, said that he did not have the authority to swear them in as legislators and told them to return to their seats.
Yau Wai-ching, Leung Chun-hang and Yiu Chung-yim were also barred from casting ballots in the vote to elect the LegCo president, as the Rules of Procedure states "no Member of the Council shall attend a meeting or vote therein until he has made or subscribed an oath or affirmation in accordance with the provisions of the Oaths and Declarations Ordinance."
The SAR government issued a statement Tuesday on the swearing-in by members-elect of the LegCo, said the oath-taking of members upon the commencement of the new LegCo term is not just a solemn ceremony but also a requisite for compliance with the law.
The statement said Article 104 of the Basic Law requires that, when assuming office, members of LegCo must, in accordance with law, swear to uphold the Basic Law and swear allegiance to the Hong Kong SAR. This is a constitutional requirement.
Lee Wai-king, member of LegCo and chairman of Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong, said she felt sorry that the three legislators deliberately expressed their political stand in the oath-taking.
"The LegCo is a sacred and solemn place, not for the members to give political shows," she added.
Leung Kwan-yuen, 65-year-old chairman of the Business and Professionals Alliance for Hong Kong (BPA), was elected president of the sixth LegCo by winning 38 votes.
As the legislative body of the Hong Kong SAR, the LegCo has 70 seats, with 35 returned by geographical constituencies through direct elections, and the other 35 by functional constituencies.
Each term of office of a legislator is four years, except for the first term when it was set to be two years. The sixth term of LegCo will end on Sept. 30, 2020.
Over 2.2 million voters cast their ballots in the election of the sixth LegCo on Sept. 4. Among all the 70 seats of the LegCo, the pro-establishment camp won 41 seats, accounting for about 60 percent of the total.
