Thread by @kinlinglo, #Breaking: A quick summary of the official reasons the election office has [...]

#Breaking: A quick summary of the official reasons the election office has used for disqualifying Civic Party candidate Dennis Kwok that I saw in a document sent to me

“Soliciting interference by foreign governments or political authorities in relation to HKSAR’s affairs” (First conduct)

The document quoted Kwok and another Civic Party member Alvin Yeung's visit to New York in Aug 2019 last year when they demonstrated support to the passing of the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act of 2019 - and a letter that Civic Party members co-signed to US Senate..

and US House of Representatives urging them to complete the legislative process for the Act asap.

The acts of Kwok "amount to acts of soliciitng and/or providing support to interference by foreign governments or political authorities in relation to HKSAR's affairs"

"Furthermore, the Candidate's request for the passage of the HKHRD Act which imposes sanctions against the PRC or the HKSAR with the view to coercing the Central People's Government of the HK Gov to act in certain way in the conduct of its internal affairs is plainly intended...

to undermine the PRC's sovereignty and HK's autonomy, and therefore is fundamentally repugnant to the constitutional framework of one country two systems under which the PRCexercises sovereignty over the HKSAR ..."

**Imp highlight: While Kwok in his rebuttal to questions raised by the officer earlier has stated that the events and words referred to were all made before the promulgation of the National Security Law on 30 June 2020, and the law is not retrospective

"However, in discharging the statutory duty of determining whether a candidate's nomination is valid or not, I am not conducting an exercise to determine whether a candidate has committed any offence under the laws applicable in the HKSAR (incl NSL) safeguarding national security

Rather, I must decide whether a candidate objectively in fact intends to uphold the Basic Law and pledge allegiance to the HKSAR of the PRC. The National Law is applied thru Annex III to the Basic Law is relevant because it sheds light on what conduct may be regarded as envincing

an intention to the contrary"

"Overall, altho the candidate claimed that he had no intention at the moment to continue to urge the US to impose sanctions against the HKSAR or to urge other foreign govs to intro law similar to HKHRD, his stance on soliciting interference is

...clearly demonstrated by his conduct and his answer to [ a previous question raised by elections office to Kwok].

This was Kwok's defence quoted in the elections office report : "The intl community, out of its own volition & on its own initiative, do whta it has been doing to help safeguard its own interests & common values that we all share. Given its stakes in HK, this is understood.."

The returning officer then commented: "the Candidate clearly condones the actions of the US government to interfere with the HKSAR's affairs.

The 2nd official reason for disqualifying Kwok is this:

“Expressing an intention to exercise the functions of LegCo members after securing a majority in the LegCo in such a way as to force the Government to accede to certain demands”

This was basically referring to the pro-democracy primaries were held on 11 and 12 July 2020 for selecting the numbers of pro-democracy candidates for the upcoming Legislative Council election to maximise the chance for the pro-democrats to achieve the "35+" majority

"An agreed plan to indiscriminately vote down all proposals from the Government in collusion with each other as professed in one's election manifesto as early as when running as a candidate to form a majority of LegCo in that there will be a failure on the part of individual..

members to properly exercise the powers and authorities lawfully vested in them to make a decision as far as the merits of each proposal dictate."

"In the present case...the Civic Party public stated in Marc 2020 that they intend to, after securing majority in LegCo...

, indiscriminately vote down any legislative proposals, appointments, funding applications and budgets introduced by the HKSAR government, etc with a view to forcing the Government to accede to their demands."

The RO then quoted Kwok, frm Civic Party, subscribed to this view

"...the Candidate has no real intention to perform his role and duties faithfully as a LegCo member (if elected) in a way to properly invoke the powers and authorities vested in a LegCo member"

The RO quoted this part of a civic party press release for the “second conduct”

To end the document, the RO said:
" Having considered all the aforesaid materials, I consider that the Candidate objectively cannot hv the genuine & truthful intention to uphold the Basic Law and pledge allegiance to the HKSAR at the time of the nomination...

...I am satisfied tht the materials related to either the 1st or 2nd conduct alone are sufficient to demonstrate the same. I therefore decide thta the Candidate Mr Dennis Kwok Wing Hang, is not validly nominated."

Signed off by the RO of legal functional constituency

https://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/202007/30/P2020073000481.htm?fontSize=1

Latest HK gov statement supporting ROs' decisions in disqualifying so far 12 candidates from opposition camp in running for the sept election (if still happening)

Sorry for lengthy+not v organised summary/notes - thread ends//

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