Hong Kong Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying said Monday that the Chief Executive and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) Government support China's top legislature's interpretation to the Article 104 of Hong Kong Basic Law and will take the responsibility to implement the Basic Law interpretation.
Leung made the remarks at a press conference held Monday after the Standing Committee of National People's Congress passed and publicized the interpretation earlier in the morning.
Accompanied by Chief Secretary Carrie Lam, Secretary of Justice Rimsky Yuen and Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Raymond Tam, the Chief Executive said any deliberate action violating the Basic Law and insulting Chinese nation should be contained and punished in line with law.
According to the interpretation of Article 104 of the Basic Law, "To uphold the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China" and to bear "allegiance to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China" are not only the legal content which must be included in the oath prescribed by the Article, but also the legal requirements and preconditions for standing for election in respect of or taking up the public office specified in the Article.
An oath taker who intentionally reads out words which do not accord with the wording of the oath prescribed by law, or takes the oath in a manner which is not sincere or not solemn, shall be treated as declining to take the oath. The oath so taken is invalid and the oath taker is disqualified forthwith from assuming the public office specified in the Article, it said.
Two legislators-elect of Hong Kong SAR's sixth Legislative Council (LegCo) deliberately used curse words insulting the Chinese nation and the country when reading the oath on Oct. 12. Their oath was not accepted by the LegCo's oath supervisor.
