Critics -- including protesters who poured onto the city's streets Sunday -- say the decision undermines Hong Kong's own legal system and further erodes promises of autonomy made before the former British colony was returned to China in 1997.

China's top ruling body, invoking a rarely used power, said Monday that anyone who refuses to read the oath should be disqualified from holding office.

"Reading the vows in any dishonest, ungraceful manner is also a refusal to the oath, and it shall be void," the ruling said, according to state news agency Xinhua.

Leung and Yao were among six young politicians, elected in a September vote that attracted record turnout, who favor greater autonomy or even independence for Hong Kong Their right to retake their oaths is being challenged by the Hong Kong government in local courts. A protester raises an umbrella sitting in front of a line of police officers outside the Chinese central government's liaison office in Hong Kong, Sunday. Police used pepper spray to disperse thousands of protesters that had gathered outside China's representative office in Hong Kong -- a symbol of Beijing's rule -- on Sunday night ahead of the ruling. Clad in black and wielding umbrellas to protect themselves, they brought to mind the pro-democracy street protests that convulsed the city for two months in 2014. China has reacted angrily to calls for Hong Kong independence, with some senior officials calling for "separatists" to be prosecuted. On Monday, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress -- China's top ruling body -- said it had "unanimously" passed its interpretation of Hong Kong's Basic Law, the document hashed out by China and the UK ahead of the handover, which is the city's de facto constitution. The ruling focuses on Article 104, which says that members of Hong Kong's Legislative Council "must swear allegiance to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) of the People's Republic of China." A protester raises a placard as thousands of people march through a downtown street in Hong Kong, Sunday. The Standing Committee has only invoked its power to interpret the Basic Law on four previous occasions, which have often drawn controversy. A top Hong Kong government lawyer, Benjamin Yu, said last week that it wouldn't be necessary for Beijing to intervene, and the issue could be handled in the city's courts. </s> Thousands of protesters on Saturday marched through a Hong Kong town to demand action against suspected triad gangs who beat up pro-democracy demonstrators last weekend.

The rally in the New Territories close to the border with mainland China went ahead despite a police ban over concerns about reprisal attacks.

Huge crowds spilled out of the town's main station and into surrounding streets where police maintained a large presence but kept their distance. Many shops were shuttered.

Some protesters chanted anti-police slogans such as "black police" and "know the law, break the law."

Public anger has been raging since last Sunday when a gang of men in white t-shirts, armed with poles and batons, set upon anti-government protesters and bystanders in Yuen Long station. Forty-five people needed hospital treatment.

Protesters say that paid gangs from the local area were responsible for the attacks and accuse the police of not protecting them. Police say they have already made a dozen arrests.

The New Territories is a more rural area of Hong Kong where many of the surrounding villages are known for links to the triad and their staunch support for the pro-Beijing establishment.

Read more: Hong Kong protests: Is the government losing control of law and order?

Saturday's rally marked the eighth consecutive week of protests in the former British colony. The demonstrations first erupted last month in opposition to plans by the local government to allow the extradition of suspected criminals to China.

The mainland's justice system is widely criticized as lacking independence and respect for human rights.

Those marches saw more than a million people take to the streets, prompting the territory's leader, Carrie Lam, to put the proposed bill on hold.

Since then, the movement has grown to include demands for direct elections, the dissolution of the current legislature, an investigation into police brutality and less Chinese interference in Hong Kong affairs.

The movement's leaders have however failed to persuade Beijing or Hong Kong's leaders to change course amid clashes with police and the storming of Hong Kong's parliament in early July by some protesters.

The United Kingdom handed Hong Kong to China in 1997 as part of an agreement that included Beijing's pledge to respect the territory's semi-autonomous status until 2047.

Each evening at 1830 UTC, DW's editors send out a selection of the day's hard news and quality feature journalism. You can sign up to receive it directly here. </s> China’s parliament passed an interpretation of Hong Kong’s Basic Law on Monday that says lawmakers must swear allegiance to the city as part of China, Beijing’s most direct intervention in the territory’s legal and political system since the 1997 handover.

The ruling is expected to bar two activist lawmakers from taking office in Hong Kong. The prospect of the ruling had sparked protests in the former British territory that returned to Chinese rule in 1997.

The official Xinhua news agency reported that China’s parliament ruled at the end of a regular bimonthly session that the pair of pro-independence lawmakers could not assume their positions in Hong Kong’s Legislative Council if they refused legal procedures when taking oath of office.

The intervention relates to Article 104 of the city’s mini-constitution, which states that lawmakers must swear allegiance to Hong Kong as part of China when they take office.

It came even before a Hong Kong court had ruled, representing some of the worst privately held fears of senior judges and some government officials in Hong Kong, according to sources close to them.

The move was expected to enrage Hong Kong democracy activists further, a day after hundreds of demonstrators clashed with police in running battles around China’s representative office in Hong Kong.

The scenes on Sunday night were reminiscent of pro-democracy protests in late 2014 that paralyzed parts of the Asian financial centre and posed one of the greatest political challenges to the central government in Beijing in decades.

Britain returned Hong Kong to Chinese control in 1997 under a “one country, two systems” formula that gave the territory wide-ranging autonomy, including judicial freedom guided by a mini-constitution called the Basic Law.

The rift between Hong Kong and Beijing has deepened since Yau Wai-ching, 25, and Baggio Leung, 30, pledged allegiance to the “Hong Kong nation” and displayed a “Hong Kong is not China” banner during a swearing-in ceremony for the city’s legislative council in October.

Leading members of China’s parliament said on Saturday the two Hong Kong lawmakers-elect had damaged the territory’s rule of law and posed a grave threat to China’s sovereignty and security.

The Hong Kong Bar Association has said an intervention by Beijing now, while a local court was hearing the case, would deal a severe blow to the city’s judicial independence and undermine international confidence in Hong Kong’s autonomy.

The oath-taking controversy made waves in the former colony, where the topic of independence from China was once regarded as taboo but has come to the fore since the pro-democracy protests in 2014 that failed to secure any concessions from Beijing. </s> Critics -- including protesters who poured onto the city's streets Sunday -- say the decision undermines Hong Kong's own legal system and further erodes promises of autonomy made before the former British colony was returned to China in 1997.

China's top ruling body, invoking a rarely used power, said Monday that anyone who refuses to read the oath should be disqualified from holding office.

"Reading the vows in any dishonest, ungraceful manner is also a refusal to the oath, and it shall be void," the ruling said, according to state news agency Xinhua.

Leung and Yau were among several young politicians elected in a September vote that attracted record turnout, who favor greater autonomy or even independence for Hong Kong Their right to retake their oaths is also being challenged by the Hong Kong government in local courts. Hong Kong's leader, CY Leung, said Monday that he would implement Beijing's decision. Newly elected Hong Kong pro-democracy lawmakers thumbed their noses at Beijing at a swearing-in-ceremony to start the legislative session on Wednesday, October 12. They displayed banners with words reading "Hong Kong is not China." Youngspiration's Yau Wai-ching told the city's Legislative Council: "I do solemnly swear that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to the Hong Kong nation," after laying out a flag bearing the words "Hong Kong is not China." Nathan Law, the city's youngest lawmaker, quoted Ghandi before making his oath. He also refused to leave the podium demanding that the Legislative Council secretary general, Kenneth Chen, explain his reasons for refusing to accept the oaths of his fellow lawmakers. Hong Kong rebel lawmakers shouted, banged drums and railed against "tyranny" on Wednesday when they took their oaths of office, as calls grow for a split from Beijing. A newly elected pro-democracy lawmaker, Fernando Cheung tears an oversized mock copy of controversial, proposed anti-subversion legislation as he takes oath on Wednesday. Lawmakers not only displayed flags declaring that Hong Kong is not a part of China but also called out for "democratic self-determination" for the semi-autonomous Chinese city at Wednesday's oath taking session. Police used pepper spray to disperse thousands of protesters that had gathered outside China's representative office in Hong Kong -- a symbol of Beijing's rule -- on Sunday night ahead of the ruling. Protesters use umbrellas to block the pepper spray from police officers. Clad in black and wielding umbrellas to protect themselves, they brought to mind the pro-democracy street protests that convulsed the city for two months in 2014. China has reacted angrily to calls for Hong Kong independence, with some senior officials calling for "separatists" to be prosecuted. On Monday, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress -- China's top ruling body -- said it had "unanimously" passed its interpretation of Hong Kong's Basic Law, the document hashed out by China and the UK ahead of the handover, which is the city's de facto constitution. The ruling focuses on Article 104, which says that members of Hong Kong's Legislative Council "must swear allegiance to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) of the People's Republic of China." A protester raises a placard as thousands of people march through a downtown street in Hong Kong, Sunday. The Standing Committee has only invoked its power to interpret the Basic Law on four previous occasions, which have often drawn controversy. Rimsky Yuen, Hong Kong's Secretary for Justice, dismissed concerns Monday that Hong Kong's judiciary had been compromised. "Both judicial independence and interpretation can coexist, and they do under our constitutional framework," he said. A top Hong Kong government lawyer, Benjamin Yu, said last week that it wouldn't be necessary for Beijing to intervene, and the issue could be handled in the city's courts. </s> Critics -- including protesters who poured onto the city's streets Sunday -- say the decision undermines Hong Kong's own legal system and further erodes promises of autonomy made before the former British colony was returned to China in 1997.

China's top ruling body, invoking a rarely used power, said Monday that anyone who refuses to read the oath should be disqualified from holding office.

"Reading the vows in any dishonest, ungraceful manner is also a refusal to the oath, and it shall be void," the ruling said, according to state news agency Xinhua.

Leung and Yau were among several young politicians elected in a September vote that attracted record turnout, who favor greater autonomy or even independence for Hong Kong Their right to retake their oaths is also being challenged by the Hong Kong government in local courts. Hong Kong's leader, CY Leung, said Monday that he would implement Beijing's decision. Newly elected Hong Kong pro-democracy lawmakers thumbed their noses at Beijing at a swearing-in-ceremony to start the legislative session on Wednesday, October 12. They displayed banners with words reading "Hong Kong is not China." Youngspiration's Yau Wai-ching told the city's Legislative Council: "I do solemnly swear that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to the Hong Kong nation," after laying out a flag bearing the words "Hong Kong is not China." Nathan Law, the city's youngest lawmaker, quoted Ghandi before making his oath. He also refused to leave the podium demanding that the Legislative Council secretary general, Kenneth Chen, explain his reasons for refusing to accept the oaths of his fellow lawmakers. Hong Kong rebel lawmakers shouted, banged drums and railed against "tyranny" on Wednesday when they took their oaths of office, as calls grow for a split from Beijing. A newly elected pro-democracy lawmaker, Fernando Cheung tears an oversized mock copy of controversial, proposed anti-subversion legislation as he takes oath on Wednesday. Lawmakers not only displayed flags declaring that Hong Kong is not a part of China but also called out for "democratic self-determination" for the semi-autonomous Chinese city at Wednesday's oath taking session. Police used pepper spray to disperse thousands of protesters that had gathered outside China's representative office in Hong Kong -- a symbol of Beijing's rule -- on Sunday night ahead of the ruling. A protester raises an umbrella sitting in front of a line of police officers outside the Chinese central government's liaison office in Hong Kong, Sunday. Clad in black and wielding umbrellas to protect themselves, they brought to mind the pro-democracy street protests that convulsed the city for two months in 2014. China has reacted angrily to calls for Hong Kong independence, with some senior officials calling for "separatists" to be prosecuted. On Monday, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress -- China's top ruling body -- said it had "unanimously" passed its interpretation of Hong Kong's Basic Law, the document hashed out by China and the UK ahead of the handover, which is the city's de facto constitution. The ruling focuses on Article 104, which says that members of Hong Kong's Legislative Council "must swear allegiance to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) of the People's Republic of China." A protester raises a placard as thousands of people march through a downtown street in Hong Kong, Sunday. The Standing Committee has only invoked its power to interpret the Basic Law on four previous occasions, which have often drawn controversy. A top Hong Kong government lawyer, Benjamin Yu, said last week that it wouldn't be necessary for Beijing to intervene, and the issue could be handled in the city's courts. </s> Anti-government protestors in Hong Kong stormed into the Legislative Council building on Monday and painted the walls of the main debating chamber with graffiti, reports said. The protestors also hung a British colonial-era flag on the main podium.

Dozens of demonstrators broke through the glass door of the Legislative Council building, while shouting slogans and spray painting messages on the walls, BBC reported.

A black and white banner hoisted in the debating chamber read in Chinese: “Bow to protect rule of law. Oppose extradition,” reported AFP.

Earlier, the police had held signs warning they would use force if protesters charged the glass exterior walls of the building. They later warned that anyone who breached an internal metal gate would be arrested. According to Reuters, riot police fired pepper spray to disperse the crowd.

Thousands of people in Hong Kong took to the streets on Monday for a rally to mark the 22nd anniversary of Hong Kong’s handover from British to Chinese rule. This was the latest in a series of protests against the extradition bill that could allow people in Hong Kong to be sent to China for trials. The Hong Kong government has agreed to suspend the bill indefinitely, but rallies have continued amid calls for Chief Executive Carrie Lam to resign.

The protests on Monday were mostly peaceful, but a breakaway group of protestors moved to the government building around noon and began ramming the glass door with a metal trolley, but the protestors later dispersed. In the evening, some of them returned to Monday evening, some then returned to Legislative Council building and began pulling off external fencing and entered the building. Protestors then managed to open a gate inside the building and gained access to the chambers.

The Hong Kong police gave an ultimatum to protesters who seized the Legislative Council, warning that they would use “appropriate force” if they are met with resistance while clearing the area, AFP reported. </s> Protesters gather inside the meeting hall of the Legislative Council in Hong Kong, Monday, July 1, 2019. Protesters in Hong Kong took over the legislature’s main building Friday night, tearing down portraits of legislative leaders and spray painting pro-democracy slogans on the walls of the main chamber. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

HONG KONG (AP) — China’s government strongly backed Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam’s embattled administration on Tuesday, saying the occupation and vandalizing of the city’s legislature by pro-democracy protesters amounted to “serious illegal acts” that endangered the social order.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said Beijing condemned the acts that saw several hundred demonstrators break through glass and steel barriers to enter the building on Monday night.

Geng said China’s central government strongly supported Hong Kong’s government and its police force in dealing with the incident in accordance with law.

“The violent attacks … are serious illegal acts that trample on the rule of law and endanger social order. We strongly condemn it,” Geng told reporters at a daily briefing.

Geng also reiterated China’s rejection of any foreign nation commenting on or intervening in protest actions in Hong Kong, saying such matters were a purely Chinese affair and other countries “must not support any violent criminals in any form, and not send any misleading signals or take any erroneous actions.”

The Cabinet’s Hong Kong affairs office issued virtually an identical statement under the name of an unidentified spokesman.

Geng’s comments follow the publication of an editorial by a ruling Chinese Communist Party newspaper that said the demonstrators who broke into the local legislature showed their “arrogance” and had no regard for the rule of law.

Chinese state media ran footage of police in Hong Kong clearing protesters from streets in the early hours of Tuesday in a break with their silence over days of pro-democracy demonstrations that have challenged Beijing’s authority over the semi-autonomous Chinese territory.

Beijing has largely sought to downplay the demonstrations that have highlighted doubts about the validity of its “one country, two systems” formula for governing the former British colony. Its coverage of the protests and the publication of a harsh editorial in the official Communist Party newspaper Global Times may indicate it is prepared to take a tougher line against the demonstrators following days of forbearance.

“These violent assailants in their arrogance pay no heed to Hong Kong’s law, no doubt arousing the anger and sadness of all people of the city of Hong Kong,” the editorial said.

Veteran opposition figure Joshua Wong acknowledged that the damage to the legislative offices has drawn criticism from some sectors in the Asian financial hub. But he said mass participation in marches and rallies over previous weeks showed there was a groundswell of support for the demonstrators’ goals of demanding more accountability from Lam’s administration.

“I understand people in Hong Kong and around the world might not 100% agree or disagree on all of the behavior of protesters … but all of the requests have been ignored. So is there any way out?” Wong said.

Lam is “not capable as leader anymore” and should resign, Wong said, echoing the demand of many protesters. Having been elected by a Beijing-approved committee, Lam is reliant on continuing support from Beijing, which has shown no outward signs of abandoning her so far.

Wong also alleged that police officers had “double standards” in enforcing the law, saying pro-Beijing legislators and their staff members have benefited by better treatment than their opposition counterparts throughout the weeks of protest outside the legislature.

On the mainland, Beijing had sought to suppress news of the protests, which roughly coincided with celebrations of the 22nd anniversary of Hong Kong’s handover from British to Chinese rule. The demonstrations reflect mounting frustration with Lam and her government for not responding to demands from opposition figures that were originally sparked by a government attempt to change extradition laws to allow suspects to be sent to China for trial. Lam has shelved the bills but not agreed to scrap them altogether as opponents insist she does.

Hundreds of protesters swarmed into Hong Kong’s legislature Monday night, defacing portraits of lawmakers and spray-painting pro-democracy slogans in the chamber before vacating it as riot police cleared surrounding streets with tear gas and then moved inside.

Protesters whacked away at thick glass windows until they shattered and then pried open steel security gates. Police initially retreated as the protesters entered, avoiding a confrontation and giving them the run of the building, during which they spray painted slogans calling for a democratic election of Hong Kong’s leader and denouncing the extradition legislation. Many wore yellow and white helmets, face masks and the black T-shirts that have become their uniform.

The actions prompted organizers of a separate peaceful march against the extradition bill to change the endpoint of their protest from the legislature to a nearby park, after police asked them to call it off or change the route. Police wanted the march to end earlier in Hong Kong’s Wan Chai district, but organizers said that would leave out many people who planned to join the march along the way.

Police estimated that 190,000 people joined the peaceful march, the third major one in as many weeks. Organizers put the turnout at 550,000.

The extradition proposal has heightened fears of eroding freedoms in Hong Kong, which Britain returned to China on July 1, 1997. Debate on the measure has been suspended indefinitely. Protesters want the bills formally withdrawn and Lam to resign.

Lam, who has come under withering criticism for trying to push the legislation through, called a rare pre-dawn news conference with security officials Tuesday at police headquarters. She noted that two different protests happened Monday — one a generally orderly march that reflected Hong Kong’s inclusiveness, the other using vandalism and violence.

“This is something we should seriously condemn,” she said.

Lam disputed protesters’ complaints that officials had not responded to them, saying the government explained that by suspending the bill with no timetable or plan to revisit it, the legislation would die at the end of the current legislative session in July 2020.

For the other demands, she said releasing arrested protesters without an investigation would not uphold the rule of law.

The extradition bill controversy has given fresh momentum to Hong Kong’s pro-democracy opposition movement, awakening broader concerns that China is chipping away at the rights guaranteed to Hong Kong for 50 years under the “one country, two systems” framework. The two marches in June drew more than a million people, according to organizer estimates.

Surveying damage to the building on Tuesday morning, Legislative Council President Andrew Leung said the previous night’s violence had undermined “the core values of Hong Kong.” He said police were collecting evidence of criminal wrongdoing.

“I believe many Hong Kong people will share the same feeling with me that we are saddened by what happened last night. For the best interest of Hong Kong, I hope that all of us can find the way forward professionally,” Leung said.

While the extradition bills and police use of tear gas and rubber bullets against protesters have drawn expressions of concern from professional groups and foreign governments, the American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong said Tuesday that it supported Lam’s government in condemning the violence at the legislature.

“We believe the violent protests of recent days do not reflect how the majority of people in this dynamic and advanced economy would choose to be heard,” the chamber said in an emailed statement.

Associated Press writer Christopher Bodeen in Beijing contributed to this report. </s> Newly elected Hong Kong lawmaker Yau Wai-ching, shouts at police officers after clashing as thousands of people march in a Hong Kong street, Sunday, Nov. 6, 2016. Thousands of protesters marched in Hong Kong on Sunday, demanding that China's central government stay out of a political dispute in the southern Chinese city after Beijing indicated that it would intervene to deter pro-independence advocates.

HONG KONG — Thousands of people protested in Hong Kong on Sunday, demanding that China's central government stay out of a political dispute in the southern Chinese city after Beijing indicated that it would intervene to deter pro-independence advocates. Police used pepper spray and batons to contain some of the demonstrators, arresting two.

The dispute centers on a provocative display of anti-China sentiment by two newly elected pro-independence Hong Kong lawmakers at their swearing-in ceremony last month.

China's top legislative panel said that Beijing must intervene to deter advocates of independence for Hong Kong, calling their actions a threat to national security. The Standing Committee of China's rubber-stamp legislature said in a statement that Beijing could not afford to do nothing in the face of challenges in Hong Kong to China's authority, the official Xinhua News Agency reported late Saturday.

On Sunday, thousands of people marched in downtown Hong Kong to voice their opposition to China's plan to step in, saying the move would undermine the city's considerable autonomy and independent judiciary.

Lee Cheuk-yan, a former pro-democracy lawmaker who was among the protesters, said Hong Kong residents were concerned that Beijing was encroaching on their relative freedoms, such as freedom of speech and expression.

"We may not agree with the two (newly elected lawmakers), their language, but we have to protect their rights because they are elected members," Lee said. "If (Beijing) can deprive them this time, they can deprive others because of other speeches or language or protest."

After the protest march, several thousand people gathered in the evening to protest outside Beijing's liaison office. Police used pepper spray and batons on demonstrators amid some scuffling.

Some protesters wore face masks and hoisted open umbrellas in the air - symbols that were reminiscent of student-led pro-democracy demonstrations in 2014 that blocked key Hong Kong streets and attracted global attention.

Helmeted police officers with shields stood in several rows, creating a blockade against the protesters. "Open the road! Open the road!" the demonstrators chanted, as police warned them not to charge.

Senior police superintendent Tse Kwok-wai said police arrested two men, aged 39 and 57, one for obstructing police work and the other for failing to show his identity card. "Police strongly condemn protesters for breaking the law," Tse said.

Demonstrators held signs reading "Defend the rule of law" and calling for the city's Beijing-backed chief executive, Leung Chun-ying, to step down.

Some said that if China's top legislative panel issued its own interpretation on oath-taking, it would effectively undermine a Hong Kong court's ongoing review of the case.

"In (the) long run, that will damage our confidence in the court," said Alvin Yeung, a legislator.

The legislative panel in Beijing said the words and actions of the two Hong Kong lawmakers - Sixtus Leung and Yau Wai-ching - "posed a grave threat to national sovereignty and security," Xinhua reported.

If such a situation were to persist, the Standing Committee said, it would hurt the interests of Hong Kong's residents and China's progress. "The central government cannot sit idly and do nothing," it said.

The statement followed discussions by the committee on issuing an interpretation of an article in Hong Kong's constitution, known as the Basic Law, that covers oaths taken by lawmakers.

Last month, Leung, 30, and Yau, 25, who are from the radical Youngspiration party, altered their oaths to insert a disparaging Japanese term for China. Displaying a flag reading "Hong Kong is not China," they vowed to defend the "Hong Kong nation." Leung crossed his fingers, while Yau used the F-word in her pledge.

Their oaths were ruled invalid, but attempts at a do-over have resulted in mayhem in the legislature's weekly sessions.

Saturday's comments indicated that the Standing Committee intended to use its interpretation of the article to send a strong message against separatism - and could ultimately lead to the democratically elected lawmakers' disqualification from office.

Such an outcome would be favorable to China's Communist leaders, who are alarmed by the former British colony's burgeoning independence movement, but is also likely to plunge their troubled relationship into fresh turmoil.

Maria Tam, a Hong Kong deputy to the National People's Congress, told reporters in Beijing on Saturday that the Standing Committee has the "final say" on the dispute, and that Hong Kong's highest court would accept the panel's interpretation as binding.

Wong reported from Beijing. Associated Press videojournalist Josie Wong in Hong Kong contributed to this report. </s> Thousands of protesters marched in Hong Kong on Sunday, demanding that China’s central government stay out of a political dispute in the southern Chinese city after Beijing indicated that it would intervene to deter pro-independence advocates.

The dispute centers on a provocative display of anti-China sentiment by two newly elected pro-independence Hong Kong lawmakers at their swearing-in ceremony last month.

China’s top legislative panel said that Beijing must intervene to deter advocates of independence for Hong Kong, calling their actions a threat to national security. The Standing Committee of China’s rubber-stamp legislature said in a statement that Beijing could not afford to do nothing in the face of challenges in Hong Kong to China’s authority, the official Xinhua News Agency reported late Saturday.

On Sunday, thousands of people marched in downtown Hong Kong to voice their opposition to China’s plan to step in, saying the move would undermine the city’s considerable autonomy and independent judiciary.

Several thousand people gathered in the evening to protest outside Beijing’s liaison office. Police used pepper spray on demonstrators amid some scuffling.

Some protesters wore face masks and hoisted open umbrellas in the air — symbols that were reminiscent of student-led pro-democracy demonstrations in 2014 that blocked key Hong Kong streets and attracted global attention.

Helmeted police officers with shields stood in several rows, creating a blockade against the protesters. “Open the road! Open the road!” the demonstrators chanted, as police warned them not to charge.

Demonstrators held signs reading “Defend the rule of law” and calling for the city’s Beijing-backed chief executive, Leung Chun-ying, to step down.

Some said that if China’s top legislative panel issued its own interpretation on oath-taking, it would effectively undermine a Hong Kong court’s ongoing review of the case.

“In (the) long run, that will damage our confidence in the court,” said Alvin Yeung, a legislator. “That will, in the long run, damage the international investors’ (confidence) in Hong Kong’s stability and the rule of law, and of course how our court functions.”

The legislative panel in Beijing said the words and actions of the two Hong Kong lawmakers — Sixtus Leung and Yau Wai-ching — “posed a grave threat to national sovereignty and security,” Xinhua reported.

If such a situation were to persist, the Standing Committee said, it would hurt the interests of Hong Kong’s residents and China’s progress. “The central government cannot sit idly and do nothing,” it said.

The statement followed discussions by the committee on issuing an interpretation of an article in Hong Kong’s constitution, known as the Basic Law, that covers oaths taken by lawmakers.

Leung, 30, and Yau, 25, who are from the radical Youngspiration party, altered their oaths to insert a disparaging Japanese term for China. Displaying a flag reading “Hong Kong is not China,” they vowed to defend the “Hong Kong nation.” Leung crossed his fingers, while Yau used the F-word in her pledge.

Their oaths were ruled invalid, but attempts at a do-over have resulted in mayhem in the legislature’s weekly sessions.

Saturday’s comments indicated that the Standing Committee intended to use its interpretation of the article to send a strong message against separatism — and could ultimately lead to the democratically elected lawmakers’ disqualification from office.

Such an outcome would be favorable to China’s Communist leaders, who are alarmed by the former British colony’s burgeoning independence movement, but is also likely to plunge their troubled relationship into fresh turmoil.

Maria Tam, a Hong Kong deputy to the National People’s Congress, told reporters in Beijing on Saturday that the Standing Committee has the “final say” on the dispute, and that Hong Kong’s highest court would accept the panel’s interpretation as binding.
In Hong Kong, police clash with protesters after more than 10,000 locals march against the Chinese government interpretation of the Basic Law in the Legislative Council oath-taking controversy.