Pro-democracy legislators,from right,Wong Pik Wan,Wu Chi Wai,Lam Cheuk-ting,Yoon Siu Kin wave after handing their letters at the Legislative Council in Hong Kong.Credit:AP
Senator Payne called on authorities to allow the Legislative Council,which is dominated by pro-Beijing appointees,to fulfil its role as the primary forum for popular political expression in Hong Kong.
"Beijing’s disqualification of duly elected Legislative Council lawmakers seriously undermines Hong Kong’s democratic processes and institutions,as well as the high degree of autonomy set out in the Basic Law and Sino-British Joint Declaration,"she said.
"Australia and the international community will continue to monitor developments closely and maintain a consistent focus on human rights and the principles of freedom,transparency,autonomy and the rule of law."
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The Chinese embassy said in a statement on Thursday that it strongly deplored Senator Payne’s comments. “Those who break the law must be held accountable,which is the basic principle of any law-based society,” a spokesman said. “No other country has the right to make irresponsible remarks or intervene in the matter.”
Democratic Party chairman Wu Chi-Wai said on Wednesday the model that guaranteed Hong Kong's semi-autonomy from the mainland after the British handover in 1997 was finished.
"We can no longer tell the world that we still have one country,two systems. This declares its official death,"he said.
Australian MP Gladys Liu,who was born and grew up in Hong Kong,said she was saddened by the move as it meant"the democracy that I enjoyed is disappearing".
"For Beijing to disendorse elected members of the Legislative Council,it is actually doing damage to the Hong Kong’s autonomy."
Labor MP Kimberley Kitching,the co-chair of the Australian arm of the International Parliamentary Alliance on China,said the expulsion of the legislators of the legislators was further proof Beijing had no intention of honouring the one country,two systems agreement.
"Australia must be a strong voice in standing up for the international order,and for the democratic values that we in this country hold so dear,as do the people of Hong Kong."
Liberal MP Tim Wilson said the move demonstrated"there is now as much tolerance for diversity of opinion about governance in Hong Kong as there is in Beijing".
And Liberal senator James Paterson said the expulsion"validates the well-founded fears of the world about the deeply troubling approach the Chinese Communist Party is taking to Hong Kong".
Hong Kong's Chief Executive Carrie Lam said the four members of the opposition,Kwok Ka-Ki,Alvin Yeung,Dennis Kwok and Kenneth Leung,had been disqualified because they had breached new national security laws imposed by Beijing in June.
"We could not allow members of a Legislative Council who have been judged in accordance with the law that they could not fulfil the requirement and the prerequisite for serving on the Legislative Council to continue to operate,"she said.
The laws were imposed after 15 months of protests over Beijing's rising influence.
The laws punish dissent or threats to the Chinese state with sentences of up to life in prison.
Dozens of activists,journalists and political operatives have since been arrested for unauthorised assembly,colluding with foreign forces or endangering national security since,as Beijing installs its own security services in the global financial hub.
The disqualifications and resignations could trigger further unrest on Thursday as opposition lawmakers remain popular with pro-democracy voters across the city.
In July,more than 600,000 voters earlier cast their ballots in unofficial primaries despite warnings they were breaching new national security laws. The Hong Kong government then delayed the election scheduled for September until next year due to the coronavirus.
with Reuters