Political situation
Written by: Peng Zhuowei
2021-04-12 11:46
Last update date: 2021-04-12 11:47
The Legislative Council's Bills Committee met this morning (12th) to continue to deliberate on the bill stipulating the requirements for public officials to take oaths.
At the meeting, many party members were concerned about whether the Attorney General's power would be too great. According to the amendments, as long as the Attorney General challenges members of the Legislative Council or District Council members that do not meet the requirements of the oath in the future, the relevant MPs will be suspended.
Among them, the Federation of Trade Unions and the Liberal Party both suggested reconsidering the power of the Attorney General in the draft.
Other members are concerned about whether the salary of a district board member is suspended at the same time. The Permanent Secretary of the Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau Tang Renguang said that the Home Affairs Bureau and the Home Affairs Department are studying a set of administrative mechanisms. It will be announced later.
How to judge whether it is deliberately mispronounced? Deng: Common sense judgment
Mr. Yao Si-wing, a member of the tourism industry, is concerned about how the commissioner for oaths can determine whether the oath-sworn member has deliberately missed or mispronounced the oath, or someone just mispronounced the oath accidentally.
Deng Renguang responded that the administer for oaths will make a decision based on common sense and reasonable judgment at the time. He also emphasized that the administer for oaths has no retrospective power and cannot rule that the oath is invalid after the oath is taken. If it is retrospective, the Department of Justice must file a lawsuit.
The New Democrat Party Rong Haien is concerned about whether the commissioner for oaths can refuse to let the person take the oath if he knows in advance that the deponent will not take the oath seriously.
Deng Renguang said that because there must be reasonable protection for the deponent, the oath supervisor must determine whether the oath is valid after the other party has taken the oath. If the other party is not allowed to take the oath, it may be challenged by the law.
Xie Weijun continued to pay attention to whether the Attorney General’s power would be too powerful at the meeting. He pointed out that it is necessary to guard against mistakes in the Attorney General’s decision from time to time. He described the current practice as setting up a "sword of justice" for the Attorney General to "cut some mistakes during the term , Members who are not firm enough."
Tang Renguang responded that the Attorney General has always had the power to file a lawsuit after the oath, and emphasized that there will be sufficient justifications if the lawsuit is filed by then, and relevant parties will have the opportunity to defend themselves.
Zeng Guowei: Is reviewing the salary payment situation during the suspension period
The DAB Zhou Haoding is concerned about whether there will be any consequences if a district councillor continues to perform his duties after being suspended.
Tang Renguang stated that under the current regulations, the government will fine the person 5,000 yuan for each violation. If the Department of Justice then applies for an injunction order and the person continues to perform the duties of a district councilor, or is involved in contempt of court.
Xie Weijun said that according to the 2016 interpretation by the National People's Congress, if someone fails to take the legally valid oath or refuses to take the oath, he/she shall not be allowed to hold the corresponding public office, nor shall he exercise the corresponding powers and enjoy the corresponding treatment. However, he is concerned that if the district councilor is suspended from office, he will still There is no clear guideline stating whether or not the payment of salaries and allowances will be suspended. It is believed that the bureau has not fully followed and implemented the decision of the National People's Congress.
Deng Renguang responded that the Home Affairs Bureau is studying the administrative mechanism to deal with it.
The Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs, Zeng Guowei, promised at the meeting that the bureau would review the relevant situation again.
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District Council Deng Renguang
