More Hong Kong opposition district councillors ousted after oath-taking ceremonies
- Former Democratic Party lawmaker Roy Kwong among 16 unseated by home affairs chief on Thursday
- Total number of municipal-level politicians removed for not being patriotic enough rises to 55
Another 16 opposition district councillors were unseated by Hong Kong’s home affairs chief on Thursday, bringing the total number of municipal-level politicians ousted to 55.
Among the latest to be disqualified over their oath-taking were seven Democratic Party members. They included former lawmaker Roy Kwong Chun-yu, Yuen Long District Council chairman Zachary Wong Wai-yin and Tsuen Wan District Council vice-chairman Li Hung-por.
Kwong, also a Yuen Long district councillor, was arrested under the national security law earlier this year for his involvement in the opposition camp’s primary poll last year.
A total of 47 former lawmakers and activists were charged with subversion over the unofficial run-off, but Kwong was not charged.
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High-ranking officials take oath pledging loyalty to Hong Kong and the Basic Law
The city’s district councils, envisioned as advisory bodies for the government at the municipal level, became a stronghold for the opposition camp following a landslide win in the 2019 elections, which took place at the height of that year’s anti-government protests.
The opposition bloc won 392 of the 452 directly elected council seats across Hong Kong, giving them control of all but one of the city’s 18 districts.
