Shouting matches, scuffles as 11 Hong Kong opposition members thrown out of key committee meeting in legislature
- Pro-establishment camp regains control of House Committee but rivals vow to hold own session and elect new chair
- Opposition threatens action against Legco staff, accusing them of aiding Starry Lee, as she clears 14 bills with allies, but not controversial national anthem legislation
A meeting in Hong Kong’s legislature descended into shouting matches and scuffles as 11 opposition lawmakers were thrown out by a pro-establishment leader who took control of a key committee to begin clearing a backlog of bills for review.
“Only with the collusion of the secretariat can the pro-establishment camp seize power to hold an illegitimate meeting and evict lawmakers unlawfully,” said the Civic Party’s Dennis Kwok, who presided over the previous 17 meetings as vice-chairman.
The pro-establishment bloc’s control of the chairmanship of the panel did not mean that the seven-month gridlock in the committee had been resolved, as Kwok’s camp vowed to continue hosting “legitimate” meetings to elect a chair. They argued that this should be the first order of business.
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Friday’s discussion ended at 6pm, after Starry Lee Wai-king – the incumbent House Committee chairwoman standing for a re-election – and her allies cleared 14 bills, setting up committees to scrutinise some of them. The camp moved a step closer to passing the controversial national anthem bill, which was not yet on the agenda and would define how people must behave when March of the Volunteers is played.
