That year, he was one of three pan-democrats who broke ranks and voted in support of the city government’s annual budget.

His was the most surprising name on the list of lawmakers barred from contesting the Legco elections. Leung, 57, has been in the city’s legislature since 2012, and is regarded widely as a moderate pan-democrat, comfortable with members of the pro-establishment camp.

“I was invited to Beijing and was on good terms with Carrie,” he said, referring to the city’s leader. “But so what? Beijing removes whoever they want, probably wishing to remove all of us except those in the pro-establishment camp from Legco.”

In barring Leung, the election official referred to a trip he made to the United States in March with lawmakers from both camps, noting how he and two other opposition lawmakers discussed appealing to the US government for sanctions on Hong Kong under the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act.

The official noted that although Leung may not have directly asked for US sanctions like the other pan-democrats, he played a “supportive or assistive role”.

He attended a press conference after the trip with IT sector lawmaker Charles Mok and the Civic Party’s Jeremy Tam Man-ho, which the official noted “extensively covered actions and follow-up to pursue the US sanction actions”.

And while Leung had not directly appealed for US action, the official noted he did not “show any disagreement with, or disapproval of, the US sanction actions”.

Leung said Hong Kong was caught in the conflict between China and the US, with the result that “the room for us in Legco has been diminished”.

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“There would be no issue if I did not go on that trip,” Leung said, adding that he was only at open discussions where five pro-establishment members were also present.

“It was absolutely nothing about colluding with foreign forces,” he said, referring to one of the offences under Hong Kong’s national security law.

He stressed that he did not, and would not, support sanctions against the city.

Hours after Leung learned of his fate, another pro-democracy accountant, William Cheung Wai-lun, signed up to replace him in contesting the election.

Leung confirmed he had prepared a “plan B” candidate and was confident the camp would secure the seat when the elections were eventually held.

He said he intended to resign from three government-appointed posts, as a member of the Trade and Industry Advisory Board and the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Advisory Committee, and as a chairman of the Appeal Tribunal Panel (Buildings).

“I have been helping out without any remuneration,” he said. “With a lack of trust, why should I stay?”

DENNIS KWOK

‘Not a shred of regret’

Close friends and those who have worked with London-educated barrister Dennis Kwok describe him as calm, street-smart and charismatic, with a dry sense of humour.

Always dressed in full suit and tie, the closest the legal sector lawmaker got to street activism was his effort organising two silent marches last year in opposition to Hong Kong government’s ill-fated extradition bill.

He did not respond to a request for an interview after being barred from running for a new term in the Legislative Council.

Friends said he preferred to lie low, given calls by the pro-Beijing camp to stop him from serving an extra year if a transitional Legco is put in place until polls are held.

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A lawmaker for two terms since 2012, Kwok, 42, stood out with his articulate grilling of officials, unlike more radical pro-democracy lawmakers who preferred a confrontational, boisterous approach.

Most observers believe he was marked by Beijing when he visited the US last August to speak to business leaders and politicians about Hong Kong’s anti-government protests and possible US legislation aimed at the city.

But it was his performance as deputy chairman of the Legco’s House Committee that made him an open target, singled out by the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office and the central government’s liaison office in the city, which accused him of misconduct and abuse of power.

Presiding over committee meetings for more than seven months, Kwok was accused of filibustering to block the passage of laws the opposition disagreed with, most significantly the national anthem bill.

Proceedings were dragged out and descended into scenes of chaos earlier this year as pro-establishment lawmakers tried to seize control of the committee.

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The pro-Beijing camp’s Starry Lee Wai-king finally wrested control during a tumultuous session, and the much-delayed national anthem bill, which penalises anyone for misusing or insulting March of the Volunteers with a fine of up to HK$50,000 (US$6,450) and three years in prison, was passed on June 4.

Kwok intended to run for office again, but election officials barred him and others.

The officials cited a joint letter sent by Kwok and other opposition lawmakers to US senators last September calling for sanctions, ruling he had committed acts of soliciting or providing support for foreign interference in Hong Kong’s affairs.

Kwok responded to his disqualification by accusing the authorities of relentless oppression.

“If all the work we did in the past, which was to fight for greater human rights, democracy and the rule of law, became the reasons for which returning officers disqualified us, this is the greatest honour every member of the Civic Party can have,” he said. “We do not have the slightest shred of regret.”

ALVIN YEUNG

Civic Party leader’s plans derailed

Alvin Yeung Ngok-kiu did not expect the day would come when his moderate pro-democracy Civic Party would become the main target of a Beijing crackdown on Hong Kong opposition groups.

He and two other lawmakers from his party, Dennis Kwok and Kwok Ka-ki, have been banned from seeking re-election to the Legislative Council. A first-time candidate from the party, Cheng Tat-hung, has also been barred.

Yeung, a 39-year-old barrister, had hoped to lead his team to winning six seats in the 70-member council before the spate of disqualifications derailed his plans. It currently has five seats.

With the elections delayed a year, it is not yet clear if he and his fellow banned lawmakers will be allowed to remain in the Legco until those polls are held.

A defiant Yeung told his supporters in a Facebook Live broadcast: “The long winter hasn’t gone, but we should not feel frustrated. There’s not only one way out for the Civic Party and Hong Kong.”

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In disqualifying Yeung, election officials cited a joint letter he signed last September to US politicians, calling on the US to pass the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act, as well as his joint statement with a “resistance bloc” of opposition politicians who vowed to vote down the Hong Kong budget if their camp won a majority of seats at Legco.

Yeung is a former Canadian who relinquished his citizenship to enter public life in Hong Kong. In 2016, he defeated localist Edward Leung Tin-kei and Beijing-loyalist Holden Chow Ho-ding in a by-election for Legco’s New Territories East seat.

He differentiated himself from Leung, who formed pro-independence group Hong Kong Indigenous, by vowing to safeguard the rule of law and judicial independence under the “one country, two systems” principle for governing the city.

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That same year, he became the youngest leader of the party founded by barristers in 2006.

After anti-government protests erupted in June of last year, Yeung was often seen at protest scenes trying to mediate at clashes between protesters and the police, and offering legal help to those who were arrested.

The Covid-19 pandemic largely tamed Hong Kong’s social unrest, but in June, Yeung was singled out by Beijing for criticism in a statement accusing him of “inciting young people to live a better life with criminal records”.

For now, Yeung has refused to comment on his plans or those of his party.

But Hong Kong’s new national security law appears to have had a chilling effect, as he recently declared he would not speak publicly about what other countries like Canada might do to help salvage the city’s civic freedoms.

“I am not at liberty to comment,” he said.

KWOK KA-KI

A bitter pill for doctor-politician

Kwok Ka-ki’s disqualification from contesting the Legislative Council elections raised eyebrows, as the doctor turned lawmaker has long been regarded as one of the most moderate voices in the Civic Party and opposition camp.

In the anti-government unrest that began in June 2019, he was seen on only a few occasions, giving first aid to protesters at the front line of clashes with the police.

Since the Covid-19 pandemic struck this year, he has devoted his energies to medical issues, advocating changes in the government’s anti-pandemic efforts.

He complained about insufficient protective gear for frontline medical staff during the initial stage of the outbreak, requested in April that all arriving travellers undergo mandatory virus tests, and asked if mainland authorities would collect Hongkongers’ DNA in tests.

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The 59-year-old representative of New Territories West put forward his views mostly in newspaper commentaries or by speaking to the press.

Kwok had stints as a member of the Hospital Authority and the Medical Council, before joining Legco in 2004, representing the medical functional constituency. That year, he expressed the hope that China would become more democratic.

Since 2012, he has been elected directly as a Civic Party member.

In May, he was caught up in chaotic scenes at Legco as both camps battled for control of its house committee, including storming the podium with allies in an attempt to keep party colleague Dennis Kwok in charge.

In disqualifying him as a candidate, election officials said that his letter in March, urging the US to impose sanctions against officials for “alleged police brutality in violation of human rights”, was considered an act of soliciting interference by foreign governments in Hong Kong’s affairs, a breach of the national security law.

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Kwok did not go to the US with Dennis Kwok and Tam to call for sanctions against Hong Kong, nor did he join Yeung in signing a joint letter with the party leader making a similar call.

Unlike his party colleagues, he did not vow openly that he would block government bills if the opposition camp won a majority in the Legco. But an election official said that, as a party member, he had the clear intention of doing so.

One of his more controversial moves as a politician came in 2017, when he joined the race to be a Hong Kong delegate of the National People’s Congress despite having no hope of winning against Beijing loyalists.

“I’m running to expose how ridiculous the game staged by Beijing itself is,” he said at the time.

His candidacy was ruled invalid after he refused to pledge allegiance to the country’s constitution.

A urologist by training, he said that year: “Hong Kong is just like a man suffering from early stage prostate cancer. The right kind of medicines should be prescribed before the cancer spreads.”

Kwok has so far refrained from making public comments about his disqualification. Perhaps he will offer an updated diagnosis of Hong Kong’s condition after Beijing decides if he can remain in the Legco until the next election.