Symbolic bid to impeach Hong Kong leader
Move against Leung Chun-ying follows large pro-democracy street demonstrations against his continuity in office.
Hong Kong politicians have made an unprecedented attempt to impeach the leader of the semi-autonomous Chinese city.
Wednesday’s bid to impeach Leung Chun-ying, the China-backed chief executive of Hong Kong, comes less than two weeks after thousands took to the streets on January 1 calling for Leung to quit and demanding greater democracy.
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Emily Lau, the chairwoman of the Democratic Party, said that Leung had “cheated his way to power”.
“This is the first time we have a motion in the legislature to impeach a cheating chief executive,” Lau said about the city’s first impeachment motion.
The move is unlikely to succeed as the 27 legislators will be outnumbered by pro-China representatives in the 70-seat legislative council.
Leung was accused of lying, dereliction of duty and breaching the law by making illegal renovations to his mansion.
Ma Ngok, a political scientist at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, said that this move is an attempt “to show the deep mistrust against the chief executive” suffering from a credibility crisis.
Leung made renovations to his home with illegal structures, which are a sensitive issue in the space-starved city of seven million.
He was chosen for office by a 1,200-strong election committee dominated by pro-China elites in July last year.