Hundreds of district councilors in Hong Kong could be disqualified for their past conduct, media reports have suggested, as the government plans to schedule oath-taking procedures for council members next month.

According to reports by Sing Tao Daily and Commercial Radio Hong Kong, the government will list out the negative conduct to be taken into account when deciding to disqualify councilors. Such conduct includes participating directly or indirectly in the unofficial primary election in July 2020 and being part of an anti-government joint statement.

Sing Tao estimated that the number of councilors affected could reach 170.

Alan Leong, the chairperson of the pro-democracy Civic Party, said that such rumors came out every day, and he would not comment on each one. Democratic Party Chair Lo Kin-hei also said that such news reports appeared “every couple of weeks,” and so far, no one has been able to confirm them.

Lo said he would not be too affected by the news and would continue with his daily tasks as normal. Apart from being party chairman, Lo is also a councilor for Southern District.

When asked by reporters, Secretary for Home Affairs Caspar Tsui said that there were no new details to announce, and it would take time to make arrangements since oath-taking by district councilors involves a large number of people. When asked about the list of negative conduct that would lead to disqualification, Tsui said that people shouldn’t make guesses.

Pro-establishment lawmaker Holden Chow said that he supported disqualifying councilors who participated in the primary election, adding that it was difficult to see how they could sincerely uphold the Basic Law and pledge allegiance to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

Chow added that the question of whether by-elections needed to be held after any disqualifications was not an urgent one, as the government has other consultative structures in place in local communities.

The Public Offices (Candidacy and Taking Up Offices) (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill 2021, which mandates oath-taking for district councilors, was passed by the Legislative Council in May.

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