Mourning for Queen Elizabeth in Hong Kong sparks new calls for ‘decolonisation’ of city
- Death of Queen Elizabeth and city’s crowds who mourned spark call for faster removal of colonial-era legacy, but academics warn against going too far
- Legislator Maggie Chan says city should remove historical terms from law books as first step
The death of Queen Elizabeth and the thousands of people who queued for hours in scorching temperatures to pay tribute to her at the British Consulate in Hong Kong has reignited calls for the city to step up its “decolonisation” effort, with a lawmaker arguing it should begin with the city’s statute books.
Legislator Maggie Chan Man-ki said the city should remove historical terms from the law books as a first step.
Chan, a lawyer and also a delegate to the national legislature, said the government should cut colonial terms from the legal system and asked for a plan and a timetable to be drawn up.
“China has already resumed its sovereignty over Hong Kong for 25 years. Under the ‘patriots ruling Hong Kong’ principle, there is an urgent need to amend the local laws, which still carry colonial terms such as ‘her majesty’ and ‘minister of state’, to defend the authority of the country’s constitution and reflect the constitutional order of Hong Kong,” she wrote in a September 19 letter to the legislature.
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Hongkongers remember Queen Elizabeth
Chan was referring to ordinances such as the Queen Elizabeth Foundation for the Mentally Handicapped Ordinance, which regulates a foundation that furthers the welfare, education and training of people with learning difficulties, as well as the Sir Edward Youde Memorial Fund Ordinance, a trust named after a former governor and designed to reward academic excellence.
