6th_Legislative_Council_of_Hong_Kong

6th Legislative Council of Hong Kong

6th Legislative Council of Hong Kong

2016–2020 Legislative Council of Hong Kong

The Sixth Legislative Council of Hong Kong (Chinese: 香港第六立法會; pinyin: Xiānggǎng dì liù lìfǎ huì) was the sixth meeting of the legislative branch of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government. Running from 1 October 2016 to 31 December 2021, it was the longest legislative session in Hong Kong history, lasted for five years and three months. The term of the session was originally from 1 October 2016 to 30 September 2020, but was extended by the National People's Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC) due to the postponement of the 2020 Legislative Council election.[1][2]

Quick Facts 6th Legislative Council of Hong Kong, Overview ...

The membership of the session was based on the results of the 2016 Legislative Council election, where the pro-Beijing camp retained the majority in the council and its flagship party Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB) continued to be the largest party. The anti-establishment camp, including the traditional pan-democrats and newly emerging localists secured the majority in the geographical constituencies and the one-third crucial minority which allowed them veto any government's proposal on constitutional reform. Notable new members include the post-Occupy activists, Demosisto's Nathan Law, 23, being the youngest member to be elected and Youngspiration's Yau Wai-ching, 25, being the youngest woman to be elected. Other new members include Eddie Chu, Lau Siu-lai, Sixtus Leung, Eunice Yung and Junius Ho.

The council never met its full membership of 70 members, as two Youngspiration legislators Yau Wai-ching and Sixtus Leung were disqualified by the court on 15 November 2016 over their oath-taking manner at the inauguration of the council. Four more pro-democracy legislators, Leung Kwok-hung, Nathan Law, Lau Siu-lai and Yiu Chung-yim were disqualified for the same reason on 14 July 2017, which left a total six vacant seats of which five of them were filled in the March and November by-elections, won by Vincent Cheng, Gary Fan, Au Nok-hin, Tony Tse and Chan Hoi-yan. Fan and Au were later unseated on 17 December 2019 as the by-election result was ruled as invalid by the court, followed by Chan's departure for the same reason.[3]

In 2019, the Carrie Lam administration's introduction of Fugitive Offenders and Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Legislation (Amendment) Bill 2019 sparked an unprecedented clash in the council between the pro-Beijing and pro-democracy legislators, and later turned into a series of historic massive protests. Hundred of protesters stormed the Legislative Council Complex after the annual 1 July march and ransacked and vandalised the interior with anti-government slogans. The continued anti-government protests eventually led to the downfall of the bill on 4 September 2019.[4][5]

On 31 July 2020, Chief Executive Carrie Lam invoked the Emergency Regulations Ordinance to postpone the September general election for a whole year, citing the resurgence of COVID-19 cases and denying any political calculation to thwart opposition momentum and neutralise the pro-democracy movement.[6] The decision was backed by the NPCSC which in November 2021 disqualified four sitting pro-democracy legislators Alvin Yeung, Kwok Ka-ki, Dennis Kwok and Kenneth Leung on the grounds of the newly imposed national security law, which triggered the mass resignations of the remaining 15 pro-democracy legislators, leaving the council with a total number of 27 vacancies out of 70 seats.[7]

In March 2021 the NPCSC unveiled the drastic electoral overhauls to the Chief Executive and Legislative Council, bypassing the power of constitutional changes vested in the Legislative Council. After the passage of the amendments to Annex I and II of the Basic Law, the Carrie Lam administration tabled the Improving Electoral System (Consolidated Amendments) Bill 2021 which was passed in the pro-Beijing dominated Legislative Council with 40-to-2 vote on 27 May 2021.[8]

Major events

2016–2017

The pro-Beijing legislators staged a walkout on 19 October to force adjournment in order to block the Youngspiration legislators to retake the oaths.
  • 12 October 2016: In the first meeting of the session, all members took their oaths while three members, Youngspiration's Baggio Leung and Yau Wai-ching and pan-democrat Edward Yiu who inserted their own words into the official script had their oaths rejected by the Legislative Council Secretariat, but 11 others - four localist and seven pan-democratic - added their own wording either before or after taking the oath and face no repercussions. Leung and Yau were criticised for pronouncing China as "Chee-na", the derogatory pronunciation used during the Second Sino-Japanese War and mispronouncing "People's Republic of China" as "people's re-fucking of Chee-na". After the oaths, the second most senior member Leung Yiu-chung of the Neighbourhood and Worker's Service Centre chaired the election of the President of the Legislative Council. To protest the Legislative Council secretariat's decision to disallow the three members to enter the chamber, Leung gave up the role amid calls from his colleagues to postpone the election due to the dispute over the British nationality of the pro-Beijing nominee Andrew Leung of the Business and Professionals Alliance for Hong Kong (BPA). Instead, Abraham Shek of the BPA who replaced Leung Yiu-chung pushed the election ahead. The pan-democrats and localists tore up their ballot papers and exited the meeting room before the vote. As a result, Andrew Leung received 38 votes against pro-democrat nominee James To's zero with three blank ballots.[9]
  • 19 October 2016: In the second meeting of the session when five members retook their oaths, the pro-Beijing camp staged a walkout to force the meeting to be adjourned for the first time in the session to protest the two Youngspiration legislators refusal to apologise for their "insulting" oaths last week before Yau and Leung, as well as Lau Siu-lai were to retake their oaths.[10]
  • 26 October 2016: In the third general meeting, Legislative Council President Andrew Leung adjourned the meeting after the three members, two Youngspiration legislators he disallowed from joining the meeting as he decided to delay their oath-retaking but were escorted by the pan-democracy legislators into the chamber, and Civic Passion's Cheng Chung-tai who shouted at Leung for his decision, refused to leave the chamber.

2018–2019

Members of two rival camps pushed and shoved each other in the Bills Committee meeting on 11 May 2019.
  • 6 May 2019: After a House Committee meeting with a pro-Beijing majority, voted to issue a set of guidelines to replace the most senior member James To of the Democratic Party with the third senior member Abraham Shek of the Business and Professionals Alliance for Hong Kong to preside the Bills Committee of the controversial Fugitive Offenders and Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Legislation (Amendment) Bill 2019 after To was accused of filibustering. To claimed that the move was illegitimate, adding that the secretariat had abused its power in issuing the circular without having any formal discussion. The pro-democracy legislators insisted to go ahead with the 6 May meeting as planned, which was eventually rescheduled by Shek with only 20 members present.[11]
  • 11 May 2019: A clash broke out as the pro-democracy and pro-Beijing camps called separate meetings of the Bills Committee of the controversial Fugitive Offenders and Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Legislation (Amendment) Bill 2019 at the same room. A number of legislators fell to the ground as they pushed and shoved each other along the packed hallway. Gary Fan fell to the ground after standing on a table, and appearing to have fainted before he was sent to hospital.[12]
  • 12 June 2019: 12 June protest against the extradition bill outside the Legislative Council Complex. 40,000 protesters gathered outside the Government Headquarters attempted and successfully stalled the second reading of the bill, though the Police deployed numerous canisters of tear gas, rubber bullets and bean bag rounds to disperse the protesters. The government and the police characterised the protest as a "riot", marking it the most serious and intense conflict between the police and the protesters during the early stage of the 2019–20 Hong Kong protests.
Occupation of the main chamber by the protesters.
  • 1 July 2019: Storming of the Legislative Council Complex where hundreds of protesters broke through the glass walls and metal doors and entered the building, ransacked and vandalised the interior with anti-government slogans. It is considered a watershed event in the 2019–20 protests.

2019–2020

  • 18 May 2020: After a months-long filibustering by the pro-democrats on the election of the House Committee chair, President Andrew Leung invoked Article 92 of the Rule of Procedures to scrap the duties of Dennis Kwok, the former vice chair of the House Committee who had been presiding the meetings and replaced Chan Kin-por, chair of the Finance Committee who successfully presided the election after the pro-democrat legislators being expelled amid the clashes broke out between the pro-democrats and the security.
  • 31 July 2020: Chief Executive Carrie Lam announced the postponement of 2020 general election for a whole year.
  • 11 August 2020: NPCSC passed a decision to extend the incumbent 6th Legislative Council to extend its term for no less than one year, all members of Legco can stay but two decided to resign in protest to the extension.
15 sitting pro-democracy legislators announced resignation en masse during a press conference with 4 former legislators

2020–2021

  • 11 November 2020: NPCSC passed a decision which led to the disqualification of four sitting legislators by Hong Kong Government, 15 remaining pro-democracy legislators announced their resignation on the same day, with the effective dates ranging from 11 November to 1 December. The Legco has now no effective opposition.

Major legislation

Enacted

Electoral changes

Main article: 2021 Hong Kong electoral changes

After the passage of the National People's Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC) amendment to the Annex I and the Annex II of the Basic Law of Hong Kong on 30 March 2021 to drastically change the existing electoral system of Hong Kong, the Carrie Lam administration began to roll out the local electoral legislation. On 13 April after the Executive Council passed the Improving Electoral System (Consolidated Amendments) Bill 2021, the government unveiled the 765-page bill with more details of the future electoral system.[13] A raft of changes to the Elections (Corrupt and Illegal Conduct) Ordinance was also included legislation to "regulate acts that manipulate or undermine elections", which would criminalise inciting people not to vote or cast blank or spoiled ballots. Violators could face up to three years in prison.[14] The pro-Beijing-dominated Legislative Council voted on the 369 amendments tabled by the government, before passing the bill with 40-to-2 vote on 27 May 2021. The only two opposition legislators, Civic Passion's Cheng Chung-tai said that the overhaul would be a real touchstone of the principle of "Hong Kong people governing Hong Kong", while Pierre Chan for the Medical constituency said that the new electoral system was a "regression in democracy."[15]

Proposed

Composition

Summary

More information Affiliation, Election ...

* The Neo Democrats won one seat in the New Territories East by-election, but lost it after a court declared Gary Fan not duly elected.
# Resigned en masse with pro-democracy camp.

Change in membership

  • LegCo membership
  • 26 August 2021 – 31 December 2021
  • 1 December 2020 – 26 August 2021
  • 13 November 2020 – 1 December 2020
  • 11 November 2020 – 13 November 2020
  • 30 September 2020 – 11 November 2020
  • 18 September 2020 – 30 September 2020
  • 1 June 2020 – 18 September 2020
  • 7 September 2019 – 1 June 2020
  • 22 December 2018 – 7 September 2019
  • 26 November 2018 – 22 December 2018
  • 12 March 2018 – 26 November 2018
  • 14 July 2017 – 12 March 2018
  • 10 April 2017 – 14 July 2017
  • 15 November 2016 – 10 April 2017
  • 1 October 2016 – 15 November 2016
More information Date, Affiliation ...

Graphical representation

Legislative Council membership at dissolution
Legislative Council division by caucus at dissolution

Legislative Council of Hong Kong seat composition by party at dissolution.

Non-aligned (1)

  Independent (1)

Vacant (28)

  Vacant (28)

Pro-Beijing (41)

  Liberal (4)
  Roundtable (1)
  BPA (8)
  New Forum (1)
  NPP (2)
  DAB (13)
  FTU (5)
  FLU (1)
  Independent (7)

Leadership

President Andrew Leung

Convenors

List of members

All members are listed by seniority according to the year of the beginning of consecutive service then the order of swearing in (i.e. the number of strokes in the traditional characters of names in Chinese per precedent) with the president of the Legislative Council being ranked first.

Members who did not serve throughout the term are italicised. Supplementary members elected in by-elections are listed below.

Key to changes since legislative election:

a = change in party allegiance
b = by-election
c = did not take seat
More information Capacity, Constituency ...

By-elections

Other changes

2016

2017

2018

Committees

More information Committee, 2016–2017 ...

Secretariat

See also

Notes

  1. Announced resignation on 12 November 2020 in protest to the 11 November disqualifications of four pro-democracy members.
  2. Disqualified on 14 July 2017 over oath-taking controversy.
  3. Resigned on 12 November 2020 in protest to the 11 November disqualifications of four pro-democracy members, with effective on 13 November.
  4. Resigned on 30 September 2020 in protest to the postponement of the 2020 Legislative Council election.
  5. Disqualified on 11 November 2020 by the NPCSC decision for "endangering national security".
  6. Resigned on 1 June 2020 to take the place of Under Secretary for Labour and Welfare.
  7. Resigned on 30 September 2020 over health issue.
  8. Disqualified on 26 August 2021 by the Candidate Eligibility Review Committee.
  9. Disqualified on 15 November 2016 over oath-taking controversy.
  10. Disqualified on 17 December 2019 as the result of the March 2018 Legislative Council by-election was ruled as invalid.
  11. Disqualified on 18 September 2020 as the result of the November 2018 Kowloon West by-election was ruled as invalid.

References

  1. [1]
    "Beijing extends Hong Kong's Legislative Council term by 'at least one year' but kicks ball back to Carrie Lam to decide how disqualified lawmakers can continue their duties". South China Morning Post. 2020-08-11.
  2. [2]
    "Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance (Chapter 1)--Revocation of the Decision to Prorogue the Sixth Term of the Legislative Council" (PDF). The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Gazette. 2020-08-14.
  3. [3]
    "Pro-democracy lawmakers Au Nok-hin and Gary Fan lose seats as Hong Kong's top court rejects election petition appeals". Hong Kong Free Press HKFP. 2019-12-17. Retrieved 2019-12-17.
  4. [4]
    "Hong Kong leader withdraws extradition bill, sets up platform to examine protest causes". South China Morning Post. 4 September 2019. Archived from the original on 4 September 2019. Retrieved 4 September 2019.
  5. [5]
    "As it happened: Protesters call bill withdrawal 'band-aid on rotting flesh'". South China Morning Post. 4 September 2019. Archived from the original on 5 September 2019. Retrieved 5 September 2019.
  6. [6]
    "BREAKING: Hong Kong postpones legislative election citing Covid-19". Hong Kong Free Press. 31 July 2020.
  7. [7]
    "Hong Kong's pro-democracy legislators to resign en masse". Aljazeera. Retrieved 2020-11-11.
  8. [8]
    "Hong Kong lawmakers pass bill to revamp elections, reducing democratic representation". Hong Kong Free Press. 27 May 2021.
  9. [9]
    "Andrew Leung becomes president of Hong Kong Legco after dispute over British nationality". South China Morning Post. 12 October 2016.
  10. [10]
    "19 minutes of chaos: Legco president calls pro-establishment camp walkout 'unfortunate', plans new oaths for localists". South China Morning Post. 19 October 2016.
  11. [11]
    "Democrats decry 'coup' as pro-Beijing lawmaker seeks to take over vetting of China extradition bill". Hong Kong Free Press. 6 May 2019.
  12. [12]
    "Hong Kong government condemns 'disorderly and uncontrollable conditions' after Legco chaos halts meeting of committee reviewing extradition bill". South China Morning Post. 11 May 2019.
  13. [13]
    "Improving Electoral System (Consolidated Amendments) Bill 2021". Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau.
  14. [14]
    "Urging people to spoil or cast blank ballots in elections to become a crime in Hong Kong". Hong Kong Free Press. 13 April 2021.
  15. [15]
    "Hong Kong lawmakers pass bill to revamp elections, reducing democratic representation". Hong Kong Free Press. 27 May 2021.
  16. [16]
    "Hong Kong lawmaker Claudia Mo resigns from Civic Party citing 'differences' over localism and other issues". South China Morning Post. 14 November 2016.
  17. [17]
    "【新民黨分裂】直播田北辰宣佈退黨：因了解而分開". Apple Daily. 14 November 2016.
  18. [18]
    "政Whats噏：吳永嘉入工商界政黨　一餐飯決定". on.cc. 2018-12-22.
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