Photo: ReutersToday's ruling is expected to bar two activist lawmakers from taking office in Hong Kong. The intervention relates to Article 104 of the city's mini-constitution, which states that lawmakers must swear allegiance to Hong Kong as part of China when they take office. It came even before a Hong Kong court had ruled, representing some of the worst privately held fears of senior judges and some government officials in Hong Kong, according to sources close to them. The move was expected to enrage Hong Kong democracy activists further, a day after hundreds of demonstrators clashed with police in running battles around China's representative office in Hong Kong. The rift between Hong Kong and Beijing has deepened since Yau Wai-ching (25) and Baggio Leung (30) pledged allegiance to the "Hong Kong nation" and displayed a "Hong Kong is not China" banner during a swearing-in ceremony for the city's legislative council in October.

Source: Otago Daily Times November 07, 2016 03:47 UTC