CHINA-HONGKONG
The removal of four opposition lawmakers i.e. “Long Hair” Leung Kwok-hung, Nathan Law Kwun-chung, Lau Siu-lai and Edward Yiu Chung-yim on July 14, 2017, for "improper oath-taking" has further crippled the democratic bloc in terms of its already limited veto power in Hong Kong’s divided legislature.It could pose tough challenges to Hong Kong’s new leader Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor.
(Comment: Legco comprises 70 lawmakers, half of whom are returned by direct elections in the geographical constituencies and the other half through the trade-based functional constituencies with a much smaller electorate. Government bills only need a simple majority to be passed in Legco, where the pan-democrats, hold a slightly more than one-third minority. They have only been able to block major bills – such as the one on constitutional reform – which require a two-thirds majority to pass.) |