Kwok Cheuk-kin, a Cheung Chau resident nicknamed the “king of judicial review,” has applied for a legal challenge over the oaths of Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying and three pro-Beijing lawmakers.
He read that a pro-Beijing driver had applied for judicial review to disqualify eight pro-democracy lawmakers, therefore he decided to “fight violence with violence,” he told Apple Daily.
Kwok has often launched legal challenges against the Hong Kong government.
He said the driver argued that the recent Basic Law interpretation – which states that oaths must be taken sincerely and solemnly – has retrospective power, therefore he would argue the oath of office taken by Leung in 2012 should be invalidated.
During his swearing-in ceremony, Leung said: “… be held accountable to the Central People’s Government of the People’s Republic of China and the Special Administrative Region,” leaving out the two words “Hong Kong” in the last part of his oath.
Kwok will also challenge the oaths of pro-Beijing lawmakers Wong Ting-kwong, Abraham Shek Lai-him and Ann Chiang Lai-wan.
Last month, Wong retook his oath at the legislature after also omitting the phrase “Hong Kong.” Andrew Leung, president of the legislature, said his original oath was invalid.
Chiang, according to a pro-democracy activist and teacher, mispronounced characters in “to swear an oath,” “the People’s Republic of China,” “the Special Administrative Region of Hong Kong,” “to be loyal,” and “integrity and honesty,” said Leung. Chiang made both tonal and pronunciation errors, which means that she said characters with different meanings instead.
HKFP found that Abraham Shek Lai-him, pro-establishment lawmaker, also slipped up during his swearing-in at the legislature last month, reading “administrative” as “administration.”
