Another Dark Day in Hong Kong

Lam Cheuk-ting rips up the rules of procedure as lawmakers are ejected

When it comes to the procedures and rules in the Legislative Council, they don't mean anything anymore. It's not about electing people into office, it's about who exerts more brute force.

Presiding member of the House Committee Chan Kin-por was ensconced at the podium before the meeting to elect the chair of the committee began at 11am, and he was surrounded by several Legco security staff who were obviously doing Beijing's bidding to not only prevent pan-democrat lawmakers from getting at him, but also physically restraining them and forcefully ejecting them from the chambers.

Chan Kin-por sits securely behind a security cordon

One of them, Ted Hui Chi-fung tried to break through the cordon of guards surrounding Chan, but he was lifted up by four guards who then dragged him on the ground. Chan even said: "Do not struggle. You are hurting the security guards."

Later sitting on the ground in a corridor with a security guard watching over him, Hui says he felt someone kick him in the chest, which led him to have trouble breathing. He was later checked over in the hospital and diagnosed chest injuries.

Hui said he had never been treated so forcefully in Legco before and pan-democrats believe many of these security guards are former policemen, and that they have lost impartiality.

At one point Democratic Party lawmaker Lam Cheuk-ting stood on a bench as he ripped out pages of the rules of procedure in protest. But really what he was doing literally illustrated what was going on.

It was after 15 of the 20 pan-democrat lawmakers were physically removed from Legco (and not allowed back in) did the voting begin of who would chair the House Committee, and lo and behold, Starry Lee Wai-king "won" the "election" at 40 votes to zero! How about that! A unanimous decision!

Ted Hui being forcefully dragged out of Legco

Civic Party leader Dennis Kwok Wing-hang had presided over the previous meetings as incumbent Lee had to  step aside as she is up for re-election in September. But apparently that rule doesn't mean anything anymore.

So the pro-establishment literally fought for control of the election of who chairs the House Committee, and in this case won handily, if not illegally.

Tanya Chan Suk-chong, convenor of the pro-democracy bloc and the first to be removed from the chamber, said they would not endorse the election results.

"Hong Kong people will never forget what happened today and they will not allow these people to return to Legco," Kwok said, referring to the upcoming elections in September.

Starry Lee got 40 votes and unanimously "won"

The next expected raucous event will be on May 27, with the second reading of the National Anthem bill.

One of Hong Kong's legal institutions is being literally ripped apart before our eyes and we can only hope to right these wrongs in September... if there is still an election...