A Hong Kong court has disqualified four opposition legislators for failing to take the oath of office, though the president of the Legislative Council accepted the oaths in October. The decision means that pro-democracy legislators no longer have sufficient votes to block legislation, which may allow Beijing and its local supporters to pass laws to restrict civil liberties. Over the past two decades, many of Hong Kong’s pro-democracy legislators have used the oath-taking ceremony to stage protests, for instance, by...

Source: Wall Street Journal July 18, 2017 23:15 UTC