Display of national symbols underscores constitutional status of HK, enhances patriotism
Ninety newly elected lawmakers were sworn into office in Hong Kong on Monday, which was also the first time they took the oath solemnly in front of the Chinese national flag, the country’s national emblem, and the flag of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) at the same time, in accordance with the amended bill related to the display of those national symbols, fully underscoring the constitutional status of the HKSAR and ending the chaotic scenes that occurred in the last oath-taking ceremony at LegCo in 2016 for good.
Before the ceremony began, all the attendees sang China’s national anthem in the legislature’s chamber where the Chinese national flag and the flag of the HKSAR were placed in front of the podium. Also, China’s national emblem replaced Hong Kong’s bauhinia flower in accordance with the National Flag and National Emblem (Amendment) Bill, which was adopted on September 29, 2021, with the aim of safeguarding the proper use and preserve the dignity of the national flag and the national emblem and of promoting respect for these symbols and signs of the country.
It was also the first time that China’s national emblem, the Chinese national flag and the flag of the HKSAR were jointly displayed during the oath-taking ceremony of the LegCo, which was widely welcomed by Hong Kong residents during the livestreaming of the ceremony.
“This is exactly how the LegCo should be,” some observers and local residents said when they commented on this “new appearance” of the oath-taking ceremony, especially when it was compared with the chaotic scenes in 2016, the last oath-taking for sixth term of LegCo, which was considered as a staged political farce by anti-China protesters and secessionist lawmakers, some observers said.
The 90 lawmakers were sworn in one after another in front of Carrie Lam, chief executive of the HKSAR, who administered the ceremony, and the whole process took about one and a half hours. Most of the new lawmakers took the oath in Cantonese, and some spoke in English and Putonghua.
The oath taken by 90 lawmakers to the seventh-term LegCo of Hong Kong is valid, Lam said on Monday afternoon.
“Being a member of LegCo of the HKSAR of China, I’ll uphold the Basic Law of HKSAR, pledge allegiance to HKSAR, and serve HKSAR, conscientiously, dutifully and in accordance with the law with honesty and integrity,” Tommy Cheung Yu-yan, representing the Catering functional constituency seats and the first new lawmaker to take the oath, said in his oath-taking in English.
Three new lawmakers took their oaths in Putonghua. Chow Man-kong, a newly-elected lawmaker who is also a research fellow at Lingnan University, was the first lawmaker who swore his oath in Putonghua. So did Sun Dong, another newly-elected lawmaker who is also a leading Chinese scientist from the City University of Hong Kong and Tan Yueheng, the chairman and executive director of the BOCOM International Holdings Company who was one of the elected Legislative LegCo members for the Election Committee constituency.
Members of the seventh-term Legislative Council (LegCo) of China’s Hong Kong Special Administrative Region wave at the audience during a tour before the oath-taking ceremony on Jan 3. Photo: IC
Some new lawmakers such as Kenneth Fok Kai-kong, who was elected from sports, performing arts, culture and publication constituency, and Nixie Lam, lawmaker-elect from the Election Committee constituency also wore face masks and brooches with the Chinese national flag as they swore in office.
“It was a very exciting moment for me as it marks an important responsibility for me to serve as a legislator of the HKSAR,” Nixie Lam told the Global Times on Monday. She described the city as like “riding a rollercoaster” over the past few years, and said that many bills related to social livelihoods and development have been put on pause.
“It’s time for us to restart and build our city together,” she said, noting that she sincerely hoped that Hong Kong residents could work with LegCo members to build a better future.
The Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in Hong Kong sent congratulations over the smooth oath-taking ceremony on Monday morning, expressing hopes that the new LegCo lawmakers will perform their duties, resolutely maintain the administrative leadership system, support and supervise the SAR government’s administration in accordance with the law.
As China’s national emblem was hung in the legislature’s chamber for the first time, it showed the legal status of the HKSAR as a local administrative region of China under “one country, two systems,” said the spokesperson of the liaison office. “It’s also a portrayal of the implementation of the principle of only patriots governing Hong Kong in the legislature.”
“Looking back to the oath-taking ceremony for the sixth-term LegCo, some fundamentals have been clearly established, and it’s impossible to see any improper acts of insulting the country,” Li Xiaobing, an expert on Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan affairs from Nankai University, told the Global Times on Monday.
During the oath-taking in 2016, Youngspiration’s Sixtus Baggio Leung Chung-hang and Yau Wai-ching decided to alter their oaths and instead pledged allegiance to “the Hong Kong nation,” referring to the sovereign state as “Chee-na” which was declared as invalid by LegCo secretary-general, the South China Morning Post reported in October 2016.
After about two years of bringing the political and social path of Hong Kong back to the correct path with the implementation of the national security law, electoral reform and relevant law amendments, the current LegCo is now back to a normal status, Li said, noting that those improper acts of turning the legislature into a joke will not be seen again.
The Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council also congratulated the new lawmakers, saying that the ceremony was solemn and that it underscored the good spirit of the lawmakers.
All the lawmakers need to comprehensively and accurately implement “one country, two systems” and resolutely safeguard the Constitution and the Basic Law, the spokesperson of the office said, noting that they have to make efforts to respond to new expectations of the Hong Kong people and work hard in fixing long-term problems that affect Hong Kong’s economic and social development.
Also, the display of national symbols at the occasion of oath-taking further underscored the constitutional status of the HKSAR as China’s SAR, which was the vivid experience of enhancing the awareness of national identity among Hong Kong lawmakers, Li said.
The LegCo is scheduled to elect a new chairperson on January 10 and will hold its first meeting on January 12. Also the LegCo Commission decided to hang the national emblem and the SAR emblem in the chamber of meeting, and the project will be finished before the first meeting, according to media reports.
