The Government says it supports returning officers to make decisions on the validity of nominations for the Legislative Council election in accordance with the law, and they have the duty as well as power to do so.
In a statement today, the Government said “independence of the HKSAR” is inconsistent with the constitutional and legal status of Hong Kong as stipulated in the Basic Law, as well as the established basic policies of the People’s Republic of China regarding Hong Kong.
Upholding the Basic Law is a basic legal duty of a legislator. If a person advocates or promotes the independence of Hong Kong, he cannot possibly uphold the Basic Law or fulfil his duties as a legislator.
The Government notes that returning officers for geographical and functional constituencies have made decisions on the nomination of candidates in recent days.
Among those who were validly nominated as candidates, some have submitted the confirmation form to the returning officers while some have not.
The Government agrees to and supports the returning officer’s decision that the nomination for a New Territories West geographical constituency candidate was invalid as he did not comply with section 40(1)(b)(i) of the Legislative Council Ordinance (Cap 542).
The candidate cannot possibly comply with the requirements of the electoral laws, since advocating or promoting “independence of the HKSAR” is contrary to the content of the declaration that the law requires a candidate to make, to uphold the Basic Law and pledge allegiance to the HKSAR.
Decisions made by returning officers are to ensure that the upcoming LegCo election is held in accordance with the Basic Law and other applicable laws in an open, honest and fair manner.
There is no question of any political censorship, restriction of speech freedom or deprivation of the right to stand for elections as alleged by some members of the community.
