Hong Kong’s ‘Long Hair’ lawmaker fails to overturn legislature ban

Ousted pro-democracy lawmaker Leung Kwok-hung, also known as ‘Long Hair’ reacts before entering the High Court to hear the sentence for his appeal over his disqualification from Legco in Hong Kong on February 15, 2019. AFP

HONG KONG, China — A veteran former Hong Kong lawmaker known for his long hair, Che Guevara t-shirts and colourful protest stunts failed on Friday to overturn a ban on him standing for the city’s legislature.

Leung Kwok-hung — known by the nickname “Long Hair” — was one of four lawmakers disqualified in 2017 for altering their swearing-in oaths to reflect their frustrations with Beijing’s increased political control over the city.

One lawmaker quoted Gandhi while another deliberately read her oath at a snail’s pace.

Leung, 62, read his oath properly, but held aloft a yellow umbrella — symbolizing his support for the city’s pro-democracy protest movement.

Their antics helped spark an unprecedented legal intervention from Beijing demanding oaths be taken in a “solemn and sincere” manner.

The High Court ruled they had not been.

Leung was the only one of the four to contest the disqualification, but his appeal was thrown out by the Court of Appeal on Friday who said the original ruling was “plainly right”.

“It comes as no surprise, but it is unreasonable,” Leung told reporters outside the court after the judgement was handed down.

Beijing’s intervention was a massive blow for the city’s beleaguered democracy movement because it meant the balance of power in the partially elected legislature swung further to the pro-China camp and crippled their ability to veto bills.

It also highlighted Beijing’s role as the ultimate arbiter of Hong Kong’s “Basic Law” mini-constitution.

Under the handover agreement signed with Britain, Hong Kong boasts liberties unseen on the mainland, including freedom of speech and an independent judiciary.

But the final arbiter of the Basic Law remains China’s top legislative body the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPCSC).

It has only made five interpretations since the 1997 handover, but its ruling on the oath-swearing ceremony was the first time it made a direct intervention in how Hong Kong’s legislature can operate.

Leung, who won more than 35,000 votes during Hong Kong’s 2016 legislative elections, hit out at the NPCSC on Friday.

“They were not elected by the Chinese people, they were not elected by the Hong Kong citizens, and they got every authority to destroy the electoral result of Hong Kong,” he said.

Leung’s activism has landed him in jail several times.

He was briefly jailed by the British in the 1970s and also spent time behind bars in 2002 after protesting inside the legislature before he became a lawmaker.

He was jailed for four weeks in 2014 for criminal damage and disorderly behaviour during a political protest, and brought a legal challenge against prison authorities for cutting his trademark locks during that spell behind bars. /ee