Hong Kong MPs defy China during swearing-in ceremony

Three newly elected Hong Kong legislators have used their swearing-in ceremony to raise the contentious issues of independence and more democracy, highlighting growing defiance of Beijing among the city's young activist politicians.

The three are among a new generation in the city, which returned to Chinese rule in 1997, demanding greater self determination, at least six of whom won seats in its 70-member legislature in an election last month.

Two of the new politicians pledged allegiance to a “Hong Kong nation” and displayed a “Hong Kong is not China” banner as they took their oath.

In response to their action, the head of the city's Legislative Council Secretariat said he had no authority to administer the oaths to Yau Wai-ching, 25, and Sixtus “Baggio” Leung, 30.

Yau refused to declare her loyalty to Beijing.

“I, Yau Wai-ching, do solemnly swear that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to the Hong Kong nation and will to the best protect and defend the values of Hong Kong,” the Youngspiration member said.

Told she must repeat the oath correctly in order for it to be valid, Yau announced her allegiance to “the Hong Kong special administrative region of the People’s Ref**king of Shina”.

Shina is an archaic and derogatory way of referring to China in Japanese.

Her oath was rejected by Legislative Council secretary general Kenneth Chen and she will have to retake it at a later date in order to take up her seat.

Leung’s oath was rejected, as he crossed his fingers as he held a Bible while he spoke and told the chamber his loyalties lay with a place he referred to as “the People’s Republic of Shina”.

Sixtus Leung crossed his fingers as he held a Bible

Independent lawmaker Edward Yiu, who added a promise, to "fight for genuine universal suffrage", to his oath, also had his oath rejected.

The new MPs represent some of a new wave grassroots groups that emerged from the wake of 2014's massive pro-democracy street protests, which failed to win concessions from Beijing but sparked a rising independence movement and a political awakening in many young people.

Another politician, Lau Siu-lai, who founded her own party, Democracy Groundwork, recited the oath very slowly, taking about 10 minutes to repeat the declaration, which has less than 100 words, by pausing for a few seconds after each one. The rest of the council chamber listened in silence.

Nathan Law, the leader of the Demosisto party who helped spearhead the 2014 protests and is Hong Kong's youngest ever legislator at age 23, prefaced his oath by quoting Indian independence icon Mahatma Gandhi vowing never to bend to authorities.

"You can chain me. You can torture me. You can even destroy this body, but you will never imprison my mind," Law said.

That oath contains a pledge to uphold the laws put in place after the former British colony returned to Chinese control in 1997, as well as to “serve the Hong Kong special administrative region conscientiously, dutifully, in full accordance with the law, honestly and with integrity”.