Politics
16:40, 08-Mar-2017
China’s top legislator lashes out at Hong Kong secessionists in annual address
Updated
10:59, 28-Jun-2018
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Top Chinese legislator Zhang Dejiang slammed attempts at making Hong Kong independent and stressed that pursuing secession is illegal during his annual report on the work of the National People’s Congress (NPC) Standing Committee on Wednesday.
Hong Kong is an inseparable part of China and attempting to achieve independence is a serious violation of the "one country, two systems" principle, the Constitution of China and the Basic Law of Hong Kong, Zhang said.
The NPC Standing Committee produced the interpretation of Article 104 of the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region last year. The interpretation makes clear that lawmakers taking office must follow the exact wording of an oath that includes swearing to uphold the Basic Law of Hong Kong. It also clarifies that anyone who fails to take the oath is legally disqualified from assuming office.
The issue came to a head after a number of Hong Kong lawmakers failed to take the oath and were barred from taking office.