The Hong Kong High Court ruled Wednesday (Sept. 23) on an appeal by Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Huang Zhifeng for a judicial review of his disqualification from last year’s District Council elections. The judge found that Huang Zhifeng had chosen the wrong legal procedure in the matter, and therefore the case was inadmissible.
The court also required Huang to pay legal fees.
The former secretary-general of the defunct Hong Kong pan-democratic organization, Hong Kong People’s Volunteers, Huang Zhifeng, applied to run in the Southern District Council elections last year. But the election director cancelled the ruling that his nomination was invalid because of his push for “democratic self-determination”.
Huang Zhifeng, 23, was the only candidate to be disqualified in the District Council election last year.
In the aftermath, Huang filed a petition in court seeking a judicial review to overturn the decision of the returning officer.
Huang Zhifeng expressed his disappointment with the ruling. He pointed out that the election complaint can only deal with procedural issues in the election, which is a very limited space, and cannot deal with the issue of whether the Returning Officer had abused his power and was unconstitutional.
Huang also said that the court’s conservative style in deciding his case is not conducive to the development of democracy.
Huang said he will consult with his lawyer before deciding what to do next.
Huang Zhifeng said the purpose of his advocacy for a non-legally binding referendum in Hong Kong is to allow Hong Kong people to express their views on the future of Hong Kong. But he said he has never been in favor of Hong Kong’s independence.
Hong Kong media reported that Hong Kong High Court Judge Anderson Chow, in explaining his refusal to accept Huang Zhifeng’s petition, pointed out that what Huang should have done was not to ask the court for judicial review, but to file an election petition. What the judge meant was that Huang Zhifeng had misapplied the legal process and the petition was not admissible.
Huang Zhifeng became known both nationally and internationally for his involvement in leading protests in Hong Kong when he was a teenager in 2012 and 2014.
He and 11 other opposition candidates were disqualified from running in the Hong Kong Legislative Council elections scheduled for September. Election Commission officials said they were disqualified because they were plotting to overthrow the government and endanger national security.
Mrs. Lam cited the virus pandemic as the reason for postponing the election for a year.
But it is believed that Mrs. Lam postponed the election until next September out of fear that the establishment would have difficulty winning the election under the current circumstances.
One of Beijing’s main objectives in pushing the National Security Law in Hong Kong in July was to exclude Hong Kong’s pro-democracy camp, which opposes Beijing and the Hong Kong government, from the September Legislative Council elections in order to ensure the establishment’s absolute control of the Council.
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