Hong Kong’s first batch of district councilors from Hong Kong Island will take oaths to pledge their allegiance to the city on Friday, after the special administrative region extended its oath-taking requirement in May. 

Speaking to the press on Tuesday, Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said oath-taking for the current 221 district councilors will be done in four batches, starting with members of district councils of Hong Kong Island from 9am on Friday at North Point Community Hall.

Invitations will be sent to all district councilors for Hong Kong Island on Tuesday, and those who refuse to attend will lose their seats, she said.

Lam said district councilors are required to read out their oaths word by word, in front of the national flag and regional flag, solemnly and sincerely.

According to the invitation letter sent to the oath-takers, they should attend the event dressed in formal attire. Wearing clothes with a political or commercial content, jeans, slippers and other inappropriate items listed in the letter will not be allowed. The event also prohibits possession of items that may disturb or endanger other participants, such as umbrellas, gas masks and helmets.

Secretary for Home Affairs Caspar Tsui Ying-wai will be the commissioner for oaths. Tsui will not rule at the scene whether the oaths taken by councilors are valid or not. The government will announce the results after the oath-taking.

Tsui said if a councilor intentionally refuses or neglects to take the oath on-site, the government will consider removing them from the seat.

Councilors may also face legal procedures initiated by the Department of Justice if their actions do not satisfy the condition of upholding the Basic Law and serving allegiance to the SAR after oath-taking.

Hong Kong’s legislature passed a bill in May requiring district councilors to take the oath. The city’s National Security Law also requires those holding public office to take the oath to uphold the Basic Law and pledge allegiance to the city. 

There were 479 district councilors originally, 260 of whom quit for various reasons. Another eight were disqualified for various reasons, including some that were held in custody and some that had left the city.

Lam promised that the government will provide the necessary services for residents living in areas with no serving district councilors.

This way, it would ensure that community interests at the district level are not undermined by the absence of those failing to fulfill the legal requirements, she added.

Starry Lee Wai-king, chairwoman of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong, said she fully supported the new requirement for district councilors.

When judging the sincerity of oath-takers, Lee said, we should not only look at the moment of taking the oath, but also consider councilors’ past words and deeds.

In the press meeting, Lam also said that Chief Secretary John Lee Ka-chiu would work to extend the oath-taking requirement to other important public office positions in Hong Kong. Similar requirements, by oath-taking or signing declaration forms, have been extended to all 170,000 civil servants and government employees since January.

Vice-president of the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macao Studies Lau Siu-kai said that the enlarged oath-taking arrangement can help screen out non-patriots and prevent them from entering the city’s governance framework, as part of institutional safeguards for the principle of “patriots governing Hong Kong”.

Oath-takers will not only take legal responsibility for their words, Lau said, the public will also supervise to ensure their activities live up to their oaths.