Hong Kong's Legislative Council (LegCo) President Andrew Leung Kwan-yuen has called on lawmakers to put a halt to confrontational politics. Despite his neutral role as Speaker of the House, Leung urged lawmakers to work together for Hong Kong’s political future beyond the period of "50 years of no change".

In October 2016, two pro-independence lawmakers-elect, Yau Wai-ching and Sixtus Leung, openly called Hong Kong a nation and used the derogatory term "Chee-na" to describe China during their swearing in ceremony. The word is an insult used by the Japanese during their aggression to China during World War Two. The duo also held banners reading, "Hong Kong is NOT China".

In response, China's top legislature referred to the Basic Law, saying that all oath takers must take the oath "sincerely, solemnly and accurately". The pair was swiftly disqualified from office. 

"I think under the Basic Law, it's quite clear that Hong Kong is part of China, and any separation is not accepted by our Constitution or by Basic Law," said Leung in an interview with CGTN ahead of the 20th anniversary of Hong Kong's return on July 1.

He said the two disqualified members-elect were not only using unacceptable language to refer to China, which affected not only the government but the people. 

"As the president of the Legislative Council, I'm elected by all members, and the neutrality of the position needs to be served. So all I can do is according to the way the Legislative Council has been working and work according to law. Although I was pressurized by the left, right and center, looking back, I did the right thing."

Since Hong Kong's return in 1997, two camps have dominated the Legislative Council. The pro-establishment, or so-called pro-Beijing camp, normally wins a little over half of the seats. The so-called pan-democratic camp, often regarded as the opposition, makes up the rest.

But after last year's election, the rise of a third camp called "localists", who advocate for Hong Kong's independence, took nearly 10 percent of all seats.

"If you advocate for the independence of Hong Kong, what future can we have? Some of us may work very hard to prove that ‘One Country, Two Systems’ is not working, but is there an alternative? Why can't we sit together and make sure that ‘One Country, Two Systems’ works beyond the 50 years? That's not only good for the politicians in Hong Kong, but good for the whole of Hong Kong and also China as well." Leung said.