Two Hong Kong independence advocates elected to the local legislature will not be allowed to retain their seats after a three-judge panel upheld an earlier ruling.

The rejection of an appeal made by Yau Wai-ching, 25, and Sixtus “Baggio” Leung, 30, who were elected to the Legislative Council in September, is the latest chapter in a weeks-long political firestorm, and comes after a heavy-handed intervention by Beijing, which is implacably opposed to separatism.

The High Court judges found unanimously that the two had, in effect, declined to take their oaths of office when they turned their inaugurations into a political demonstration. At the ceremony on Oct. 12, both Yau and Leung unfurled banners that stated that Hong Kong was not part of China, and departed from the prescribed oath by pledging allegiance to the “Hong Kong Nation” instead of Hong Kong as a Special Administrative Region of China.

“There is therefore no question of allowing them to retake the [Legislative Council] Oath,” wrote Justice Andrew Cheung in the ruling, adding that the vacation of their offices was “automatic.”

Neither Yau nor Leung showed up to hear the ruling, which comes after the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPCSC), China’s rubber-stamp legislature, found against them in early November — at the same time as their actions were the subject of a judicial review brought by the Hong Kong government.

“As critics we can argue that it was improper for the NPCSC to intervene in a pending case but we could not expect the Court of Appeals to challenge that decision,” Michael Davis, a former law professor at the University of Hong Kong, tells TIME by email. The NPCSC, he says, “essentially foreclosed any chance the court would side with the two legislators.”

Both Yau and Leung were among the fresh faces elected as part of a local backlash against Chinese encroachment on the semiautonomous territory’s freedoms, and have been under constant attack from loyalist forces for the manner in which they attempted to take their oaths. Business in the chamber has ground to a halt for weeks as a result.

The burgeoning Hong Kong independence movement has meanwhile attracted the fury of the Chinese state. Speaking on Nov. 11 in Beijing, President Xi Jinping said, “All activities that intend to divide the country will certainly be firmly opposed by all Chinese people. We will never allow any one, any organization, any party to split off any tract of territory from China anytime, or in any way.”

On Tuesday, China’s top lawmaker, National People’s Congress chairman Zhang Dejiang, declared that “Hong Kong independence would bring calamity to the nation and its people.”

The High Court said Wednesday that it would hear applications for Yau and Leung’s appeal to the territory’s ultimate court, the Court of Final Appeal, on Thursday morning.

Contact us at editors@time.com. </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> 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> HONG KONG (AP) — Two separatist Hong Kong lawmakers lost their appeal Wednesday against a ruling disqualifying them from office because they altered their oaths with an anti-China insult.

The Court of Appeal sided with a judgment earlier this month barring Sixtus Leung and Yau Wai-ching of the Youngspiration Party from taking their seats in the city’s Legislative Council.

It agreed with the High Court’s decision two weeks ago that the pair effectively declined to take the oath, violating the semiautonomous Chinese city’s Basic Law constitution covering oaths taken by officials.

The three-member panel said its ruling was backed up by Beijing’s own controversial interpretation of the Basic Law.

In an act of defiance, Leung and Yau modified their oaths, which require pledging allegiance to Hong Kong as a part of China, by referring to the “Hong Kong nation” and using a derogatory term for China during their swearing-in ceremonies last month. They also displayed a flag that said “Hong Kong is not China.” Yau, 25, cursed and Leung, 30, crossed his fingers.

“There can be no innocent explanation for what they uttered and did,” the ruling said. “What has been done was done deliberately and intentionally.”

The actions infuriated China’s central government in Beijing, which responded with its constitutional interpretation that Hong Kong courts are required to enforce. But in an unprecedented move, the decree was released before the lower court came to a decision, sparking fears that Beijing was eroding Hong Kong’s considerable autonomy and independent judiciary.

Leung and Yau were among a group of lawmakers newly elected in September amid a rising tide of anti-China sentiment driven by fears that Beijing is tightening its grip on the former British colony.

The ruling comes after the Hong Kong government indicated it plans to widen its campaign against the opposition by taking action against a third pro-democracy lawmaker, Lau Siu-lai, who read her pledge in an exaggeratedly slow manner in an apparent protest, pausing for a few seconds between each word.

The Justice Department said in a brief statement Tuesday that the government plans to take Lau to court but did not provide details. </s> Two pro-independence legislators, Yau Wai-ching and Sixtus Leung, from Youngspiration party expressed support for Hong Kong’s independence while taking oath in LegCo last month and used a derogatory term to describe Beijing.

In an unprecedented move, China on Monday passed a new controversial law to bar elected rebel lawmakers from taking office in Hong Kong in a bid to crush growing pro-independence movement in the former British colony.

The ruling passed by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, China’s rubber stamp parliament, said elected members to Legislative Council (LegCo) of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) must swear allegiance to Hong Kong as part of China and those who changed their oath will be disqualified.

“When assuming office, the chief executive, principal officials, members of the executive council and of the legislative council, judges of courts at all levels and other members of the judiciary in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region must, in accordance with law, swear to uphold the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China.

And swear allegiance to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China,” NPC said issuing official interpretation basic law of article 104 of the Hong Kong’s Basic Law.

The clause stipulating “allegiance to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’ s Republic of China” is not only the legal content which must be included in the oath prescribed by the Article, but also the legal requirements and preconditions for standing for election in respect of or taking up the public office specified in the Article, the NPC ruling said.

This followed China facing major challenge to its political hold on the former British colony which was merged with the mainland in 1997 with certain privileges like freedom of expression which were not granted to Tibet and Xinjiang, though they are treated as Autonomous Regions for their distinct ethnic identities.

The pro-independence sentiments which had been brewing since 2014 over China’s insistence to screen candidates to contest the polls for the Chief Executive post snowballed into a political movement with some of the rebels getting elected to LegCo.

Two pro-independence legislators, Yau Wai-ching and Sixtus Leung, from Youngspiration party expressed support for Hong Kong’s independence from China while taking oath in LegCo last month and used a derogatory term to describe Beijing.

China’s ruling may also call into question oath of three other pro-independence legislators.

Ms. Yau Wai-ching created a stir by laying out a banner with the word “Hong Kong is not China” before taking her first oath.

The two rebel legislators vowed to defend the “Hong Kong nation.”

Mr. Leung crossed his fingers while Ms. Yau used the F—word in her pledge.

Their actions followed by over a year anti-China protests and demonstrations in former British colony creating a piquant situation for Beijing over fears that an outright crackdown may alienate the SAR further.

This is the first time China made a decisive intervention to prevent situation from spiralling out of control. </s> China effectively barred two elected pro-independence lawmakers from Hong Kong’s legislature Monday after they deliberately misread their oaths, saying that they could not be sworn in again.

An oath that did not conform to Hong Kong’s law “should be determined to be invalid, and cannot be retaken,” the communist-controlled National People’s Congress in Beijing said in a rare interpretation of the semi-autonomous city’s constitution.

Legislators had to be “sincere and solemn” when taking their oaths, and had to pledge “completely and solemnly” to uphold the Basic Law of Hong Kong as part of the People’s Republic of China, the NPC declared at the Great Hall of the People on Tiananmen Square.

The question has become hugely sensitive in Hong Kong, the former British colony which returned to Chinese rule in 1997 under a promise of “one country, two systems” and where fears of increasing encroachment by Beijing have been rising, prompting mass protests two years ago.

Pro-independence legislators Baggio Leung and Yau Wai-ching deliberately misread their oaths of office for seats on the Legislative Council (Legco) last month.

Beijing sees any talk of independence as treasonous and the official Xinhua News Agency quoted a spokesman for the government’s Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office welcoming the ruling.

“The interpretation demonstrates the central government’s firm determination and will in opposing ‘Hong Kong independence,’ ” the spokesperson said, adding that it “complies with the common aspiration of the entire Chinese people, including the compatriots in Hong Kong.”

The move was Beijing’s most direct intervention in the territory’s legal and political system since the 1997 handover.

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 center 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 the 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, 25, and 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. </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> Leung Chun-ying is the first chief executive to refrain from seeking re-election since Hong Kong, a former British colony, returned to Chinese rule in 1997.

HONG KONG — Leung Chun-ying, the unpopular Beijing-backed leader of Hong Kong whose government has tried to block or remove elected opposition politicians from office, said Friday that he would not seek a second term.

“I must make a responsible choice between fulfilling my responsibilities to society and to my family,” he said at a news conference, adding that a campaign would impose “unbearable stress” on his family.

Leung has occupied the post of chief executive, the city’s highest office, since 2012. He is the first chief executive to refrain from seeking re-election since Hong Kong, a former British colony, returned to Chinese rule in 1997.

Critics of Leung have viewed whether he would run as a sign of the Chinese government’s endorsement of his hard-line policies in Hong Kong, a semiautonomous territory. In the past few years, under Leung’s leadership, concerns have grown in the city over an erosion in civil liberties and, more recently, a crackdown on political opposition.

“Everyone in Hong Kong can see that the central authorities, including the top leaders in the country, have been very supportive of my work over all these years,” he said, a denial that he was dropping out because of Beijing’s disapproval.

In a statement, the Chinese government’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office said it was “regretful” of Leung’s decision not to run and praised his contribution in upholding national sovereignty and stability in Hong Kong.

Leung will stay in office for six months until the inauguration of his successor, who will be selected in March.

Leung was accused last week of waging a “coup” as he tried to unseat four elected pro-democracy legislators with a legal challenge over the way they took their oaths of office. An earlier judicial review that he initiated disqualified two separatists from taking places in the legislature, but his move to challenge the four seated lawmakers, who do not advocate Hong Kong’s independence from China, was seen as a broader crackdown on opposition.

The six politicians targeted by Leung were among more than 10 who inserted political statements into their oaths of office in October. Two of them, the pro-independence Sixtus Leung and Yau Wai-ching, added an alternative name for China that many see as derogatory, and pledged allegiance to the Hong Kong “nation,” prompting a rare legal intervention from the Chinese government.

“The timing of this is an attempt to relieve pressure in society against the government’s suppression of legislators,” said Nathan Law, who is among the four legislators whose qualification for office is being challenged. “There may be a stick following the carrot. We must not let our guards down.”

In the four years since Leung took office, Hong Kong has had large street protests demanding greater democracy amid wide-ranging economic grievances, including housing in a property market regularly ranked as one of the world’s least affordable.

In the Friday news conference, Leung did not provide details about his family issues, although the local media reported this week that he had visited a hospital where his daughter was said to be receiving treatment.

“My daughter has only one father, and my wife has only one husband,” he said Friday.

In a widely reported episode in 2015, Leung said his older daughter, Leung Chai-yan, had health problems after she accused him and her mother of abuse.

Leung has two daughters and a son.

His move to open the office to other candidates is unlikely to lead to drastic changes in terms of Hong Kong’s relationship with China. The chief executive is selected by an elite committee dominated by Beijing loyalists. On Sunday, members of professional and special-interest groups from dozens of sectors such as agriculture, banking and education will vote fewer than 1,200 people onto the committee. The chief executive may at most serve two consecutive, five-year terms. </s> Hong Kong’s high court on Friday removed four opposition lawmakers from the city’s legislative assembly after it invalidated their oaths of office. A former British colony, Hong Kong became a Chinese territory 20 years ago under a “one country, two systems” arrangement that guaranteed a wide range of freedoms not enjoyed in China, including a direct vote for half of the 70-seat legislature. But activists say the city government’s effort in disqualifying democratically elected lawmakers is a direct assault on those freedoms.

Hong Kong’s newly-elected chief executive, Carrie Lam, who has vowed to build a stronger relationship with the opposition, said she would not intervene in the case, however. “Building bridges still has to be done in a lawful way,” she told Reuters in an interview. “I don’t think this chief executive, or any government official, should compromise on the rule of law just because we want to be friendly. But I’m sure the judicial process will go on.”

Hong Kong lawmakers Nathan Law, Lau Siu-lai, Leung Kwok-hung and Edward Yiu added words to their oaths, read slowly or changed their tone of voice to express “a doubt on, or disrespect of, the status of the People’s Republic of China as a legitimate sovereign of the Hong Kong Special Adminisitrative Region,” the court said in a summary of its ruling.

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Baggio Leung and Yau Wai-ching are banned by China from taking office in Hong Kong over the oath-taking controversy.