China expresses 'approval, support' for disqualification of Hong Kong activist Joshua Wong from upcoming local elections
Beijing expressed 'approval, support' for disqualification of Hong Kong democracy activist Joshua Wong from upcoming local elections, after months of protests in the semi-autonomous city
-
Beijing expressed 'approval, support' for disqualification of Hong Kong democracy activist Joshua Wong from upcoming local elections
-
Wong, one of the most prominent figures in the otherwise leaderless movement, accused the Hong Kong government of 'political screening'
-
Wong was the only candidate barred from standing in an election for district councils, which tackle regional issues
Beijing: Beijing expressed "approval and support" Wednesday for the disqualification of Hong Kong democracy activist Joshua Wong from upcoming local elections, after months of protests in the semi-autonomous city.
Wong, one of the most prominent figures in the otherwise leaderless movement, accused the Hong Kong government of "political screening" after an election officer ruled his nomination for the November poll invalid on Tuesday.
File image of Hong Kong activist Joshua Wong. AP
But a spokesman for China's top policy body on Hong Kong affairs said Wednesday that Wong had over many years "proclaimed the viewpoints of so-called 'self-determination' and 'Hong Kong independence' and publicly denied that Hong Kong is a part of China".
Related Articles
During recent protests Wong "repeatedly grovelled to foreign powers for sympathy and begged for interference", Yang Guang, of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, said on the body's website Wednesday. He "is one of the chief culprits challenging the red-line principle of 'one country, two systems'", Yang said. "We express approval and support of this decision."
The 22-year-old rose to prominence as the poster child of the huge pro-democracy "Umbrella Movement" of 2014 that failed to win any concessions from Beijing and served time in jail for his role in those protests.
Wong was the only candidate barred from standing in an election for district councils, which tackle regional issues. The election is the first to be held since the current anti-government protests started. Wong accused the Hong Kong government on Tuesday of accepting "a political mission handed down from Beijing" by banning him from the polls.
The Hong Kong election officer wrote in her reasoning that Wong's concept of self-determination does not rule out the independence of Hong Kong as an option, which she deemed inconsistent with the Basic Law, the city's mini-constitution.
Wong and his party, Demosisto, have denied supporting independence for the city. They say they advocate self-determination and a referendum for Hong Kong people to decide how they want to be governed.
Last year, Agnes Chow, another young pro-democracy leader from Wong's party, was barred from standing in by-elections because her party advocates self-determination for Hong Kong.
also read
Chinese ships intrude into Vietnam’s maritime boundary near Russian-run gas fields, ignore demand to leave
According to Ray Powell, director of Stanford University's Project Myoushu in the South China Sea, the Chinese ship Xiang Yang Hong 10 started operating in Vietnam's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) on May 7. This is the largest incursion since 2019
Xi Jinping’s colossal Covid failure: Mega wave hits hard as China’s vaccination claims fall flat
Covid-19 cases in China are expected to peak in June and as many as 65 million people are expected to be infected by the virus
US 'won't tolerate' China's ban on Micron chips, commerce secretary says
China's cyberspace regulator said on May 21 that Micron, the biggest US memory chip maker, had failed its network security review and that it would block operators of key infrastructure from buying from the company, prompting it to predict a revenue reduction