The Legislative Council Commission has ruled that 13 assistants of the two Youngspiration lawmakers will be barred from entering the legislative building following clashes outside a conference room last week.
The six assistants of Yau Wai-ching and seven assistants of Baggio Leung Chun-hang are required to leave the building on Tuesday. The ruling is to be executed by security guards and they will be unable to enter the building until further notice. Their validation of their LegCo passes will be cancelled immediately, though Yau and Leung themselves will still have access to the complex.
A media assistant for the party said among the 13, some did not enter the LegCo on the day of the clashes last Wednesday, whilst at least two barred assistants did not enter the first and second floors – where the meeting rooms are – when the clashes occurred.
“[The LegCo Commission] was not clear about the situation at the time, but it used words such as ‘storming’,” the assistant told reporters in a WhatsApp message, when commenting on the official notice from the secretariat. “The decision… is questionable.”
An assistant for Yau Wai-ching told HKFP that the assistants are removing valuable items from the office before security guards arrive.
The security guards have been pressing the doorbells of their offices on tenth floor of the LegCo building after they arrived, but some assistants remained inside the rooms.
The Commission of lawmakers discusses administrative measures for the Council. It includes LegCo president Andrew Leung Kwan-yuen, eight pro-Beijing camp lawmakers and four pro-democracy camp lawmakers.
Last Wednesday, the president said he “strongly condemns the violent action” of the lawmakers and a group of people assisting them that led to the injuries of six security guards who were admitted to hospital.
#LegCo president suspends meeting once again owing to clashes outside the conference room. HKFP_Live: https://t.co/PesW7KlSM5 #hongkong pic.twitter.com/fQjOPuVX7b
— Hong Kong Free Press (@HongKongFP) November 2, 2016
The pair were barred from entering the meeting room, according to a decision by the president, since a legal case was under way related to their oaths.
Leung said the Commission unanimously condemned the violent action after a meeting on Tuesday. He added that the duo are welcome to appeal the decision.
Leung also the Commission agreed that during House Committee and Finance Committee meetings, lawmakers’ staff members cannot appear on the first and second floors of the LegCo – where the meeting rooms are. If they needed to give documents to lawmakers, they can do so on the ground floor through LegCo staff members.
The Commission also agreed that the LegCo secretariat will impose crowd control measures to allow lawmakers to enter and leave meeting rooms and for the media to do their work. Leung said media will be consulted at a later stage.
