The sixth Legislative Council (Legco) of the SAR opened its term yesterday.　　At its opening meeting held in the morning, senior legislator Andrew Leung Kwan-yuen of the Business and Professionals Alliance for Hong Kong (BPA) was successfully elected as President of the sixth Legco, to be responsible for presiding meetings and enforcing rules and regulations.　　Various sectors expressed their approval and hoped the Legco under the new President could conscientiously fulfill its duty, push forward (the government's) administration and serve people in the next four years.

　　However, while the new President was elected, the opening meeting of the new-term Legco yesterday and the preceding swearing-in ceremony for legislators-elect witnessed the most disgusting and most chaotic scenes in the history of the Legco.　　Legislators-elect Youngspiration's Sixtus "Baggio" Leung Chung-hang and Yau Wai-ching as well as Edward Yiu Chung-yim [of the Professionals Guild] deliberately tampered with the Legco Oath, and their oaths were declared invalid.　　In addition, Nathan Law Kwun-chung, Lau Siu Lai and some others took their oaths foully.

　　Afterwards, when the trio whose oaths had been declared invalid were refused to participate in the opening meeting and the election of the President, they created a scene outside the Chamber, pushing and shoving security guards in an attempt to charge into the Chamber.　　Opposition legislators Leung Kwok-hung Raymond Chan Chi-chuen and some others kept making trouble inside the Chamber: they at first besieged Legco's Secretary General Kenneth Chen Wei-on, then occupied the rostrum to prevent senior legislator Abraham Shek Lai-him from chairing the meeting for the election of the President, and finally torn and threw away their ballots, raising a big hue and cry and causing chaos in the chamber. The opening meeting of the sixth Legco concluded in a clamour.

　　Here it must be solemnly pointed out that, such things are absolutely intolerable and unacceptable that the three legislators-elect including Leung Chung-hang refused to take their oaths in accordance with the law, a handful of others took their oaths foully, and the Legco's opening meeting proceeded disorderly and completely out of control. During the swearing-in ceremony and the election of the President of the Legco yesterday, the opposition with its behaviour has put down the ugliest and most disgraceful chapter in the history of the Legco.　　The trio including Leung Chung-hang become the lowest-grade and most irresponsible legislators-elect.　　They are no match for some former veteran opposition lawmakers in their capability of deliberatig issues and in their cultivation, but in terms of breaking laws and the constitution and disrupting public order, they are much worse, crazier, more vulgar and more hideous.

　　Seeing the chaotic scenes at the Legco's opening meeting yesterday, all Hong Kong citizens were either so shocked that they became speechless or filled with so much righteous indignation as to give vent to their anger by letting out a torrent of abuse. The Legco is Hong Kong's sole chamber for deliberating issues, and the sole legislative body stipulated by the Basic Law.　　All laws and regulations, policies and measures of the government must be presented to the Legco for deliberation and approval.　　All Hong Kong people's interests and well-being depend on the progress and achievement in the relations between the government and Legco.　　However, what all citizens saw yesterday were a bunch of "hooligans" and "villains" who refused to even meet such a most basic requirement as to be sworn in in accordance with the law.　　The older ones created a scene while younger ones acted madly.　　A solemn Legco was nearly turned into some Mong Kok street on the Lunar New Year night, except that no brick was removed from the ground.

(To be continued)

13 October 2016