Are Hong Kong civil servants overstepping their powers in banning election candidates?

On Tuesday, he will hear the outcome of an election petition he lodged in September 2016, challenging the decision to ban him from contesting that year’s Legislative Council election.

Back then, the lanky former student protester was barred by the returning officer. The officer was not convinced the pro-independence hardliner was sincere when he signed a declaration pledging to uphold the Basic Law, the city’s mini-constitution, which states Hong Kong is “an inalienable part of China”. Four others, including pro-independence activist Edward Leung Tin-kei, were also banned in that election.

The ban sparked a political storm, as critics accused the government of unilaterally blocking candidates. But public anger was soon directed at a more dramatic development: six opposition lawmakers, two of whom advocated independence like Chan, were disqualified by the courts for sullying their oaths to take office. The Hong Kong government said they were insincere and therefore denigrated the Basic Law. The case prompted Beijing – which has a big say under the governing principle of “one country, two systems” ­– to issue a legal interpretation to set its position on oath-taking.