BREAKING: German Parliamentarians formally announce support for disqualified Hong Kong lawmakers and candidates Edward Leung and ‘Long Hair’ Leung Kwok-hung
Updated: On 21 October 2019, Mr Eckhard Gnodtke (CDU) announced his support for Mr Sixtus Baggio Leung Chung-hang to make himself the third German Parliamentarian to announce support for a Hong Konger.
The Committee on Human Rights and Humanitarian Aid of the German Bundestag has confirmed the pairing of three disqualified Hong Kong parliamentarians and candidates, Edward Leung, ‘Long Hair’ Leung Kwok-hung and Sixtus Baggio Leung Chung-hang, with members of the Bundestag as part of their official “Parliamentarians Protect Parliamentarians” programme. This show of international solidarity comes at a time when it looks likely that the Hong Kong government will disqualify candidates for election to the District Council.
Since 2018, members of the committee have been monitoring the situation in Hong Kong following engagement with the UK-based human rights charity Hong Kong Watch. Two disqualified parliamentarians and candidates have been chosen to be supported by senior figures of three major political parties. Criteria for the selection was the urgency and severity of their cases.
Former by-election candidate Mr Edward Leung Tin-kei, imprisoned for rioting, has been paired with the committee chairwomen Ms Gyde Jensen (FDP). Former lawmaker Mr ‘Long Hair’ Leung Kwok-hung’s, who was retroactively disqualified as an elected lawmaker, has been paired with Dr Danyal Bayaz (Green Party). Mr Eckhard Gnodtke (CDU) has been paired with Mr Sixtus Baggio Leung Chung-hang.
Mr Gnodtke said: "Hong Kong’s ongoing crisis can be directly traced back to the disqualification of lawmakers and election candidates and their disproportionally harsh sentencing. It is for this reason that I am pairing with the disqualified lawmaker Baggio Leung to stand in solidarity with Hong Kong's young people who are facing a campaign of political screening. I hope the nomination of Mr Leung provides timely moral support him ahead of his appeal, and that Hong Kongers know that the German Bundestag stands in solidarity with you. I am grateful to Hong Kong Watch for helping to facilitate this initiative."
The Chairwoman of the Bundestag’s Human Right Committee, Ms Gyde Jensen (FDP), said: “We welcome Hong Kong Watch’s initiative, and the Parliamentarians Protect Parliamentarians programme shows the German solidarity for the Hong Kong parliamentarians and candidates who are under threat. Their nomination provides timely moral support for them as individuals in these difficult times for Hong Kong.”
Dr Danyal Bayaz (Greens) stated that: “The acceptance of Mr Leung into the PSP-Program of the German Bundestag highlights that the disqualifications of elected lawmakers and harsh sentences can be seen as an indicator of an ongoing erosion of rule of law and civil rights in Hong Kong, which contributed to Hong Kong’s current political crisis.”
Note to Editors: Find link to the “Parliamentarians Protect Parliamentarians” programme on the Bundestag website here: https://www.bundestag.de/resource/blob/549508/e23ed707a581eeee80e42630ac83bdeb/PsP_Flyer-englisch-data.pdf