Civic Passion lawmaker Cheng Chung-tai has denounced pro-Beijing legislator Paul Tse Wai-chun after he moved to put forward a motion on Wednesday which may disqualify him from the Legislative Council.
Tse initiated the condemnation motion in late November after Cheng turned several Chinese and Hong Kong flags upside down on the desks of pro-Beijing members during a meeting in October. Cheng will face ejection from the legislature if two-thirds of lawmakers present at the meeting vote in favour.
“I believe Tse’s action is unreasonable and exaggerated, and that it is political censorship,” Cheng said. “My performance is evaluated by voters, and the pro-Beijing camp should not try to cancel my seat through a condemnation motion.”
Even though the pan-democratic camp controls over one-third of the seats in the legislature, Cheng said it remained a possibility that the motion could be passed.
“If it is carried through, the legislature will no longer have any value… I will then use my own means to dissolve the chamber,” he said, though he did not elaborate.
In November, Tse said flipping the China and Hong Kong flags amounted to “extreme misconduct,” adding that it may have caused insult to the country and the Basic Law.
Pro-Beijing lawmaker Edward Lau Kwok-fan previously reported the flag-flipping protest to the police and urged them to investigate and prosecute Cheng in accordance with the law. Lawmakers and district councillors of the New People’s Party reported it to the Department of Justice and urged them to prosecute.
