BEIJING (AP) – China’s top legislature on Monday effectively barred two democratically elected separatist lawmakers from taking office in Hong Kong, an intervention into a local political dispute that’s likely to spark further turmoil in the southern Chinese city.
The National People’s Congress Standing Committee in Beijing issued a ruling on a section of Hong Kong’s mini-constitution covering oaths taken by officials. It acted after a provocative display of anti-China sentiment by two newly elected pro-independence Hong Kong lawmakers at their swearing-in ceremony last month.
Hong Kong’s government will fully implement the interpretation, said Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying, the Beijing-backed leader of the semiautonomous Chinese region.
Thousands of protesters took to Hong Kong streets on Sunday after Beijing signaled it was planning to intervene. They demanded that China’s central government stay out of the political dispute, saying the move would undermine the city’s considerable autonomy and independent judiciary by bypassing the top court, where the case is currently being heard.
Police used pepper spray and batons against some demonstrators trying to reach Beijing’s liaison office after the rally ended. Four people were arrested while two officers were injured, police said.