Baggio Leung

Baggio Leung
梁頌恆
Convenor of Youngspiration
Incumbent
Assumed office 21 January 2015
Member of the Legislative Council
In office 1 October 2016 – 12 October 2016
Preceded by	James Tien
Constituency	New Territories East
President of the City University of Hong Kong Students' Union
In office 1 April 2007 – 6 March 2008
Personal details
Born	Sixtus Leung Chung-hang 7 August 1986 Hong Kong
Nationality	Hong Kong Chinese
Political party	Youngspiration
Residence	Ap Lei Chau, Hong Kong
Alma mater	City University of Hong Kong
Religion	Christianity

Sixtus "Baggio" Leung Chung-hang (Chinese: 梁頌恆; born 7 August 1986) is a Hong Kong activist and politician. He is the convenor of Youngspiration, a localist political group in Hong Kong that leans towards Hong Kong independence. He was elected to the Legislative Council of Hong Kong as a member for New Territories East in the 2016 Hong Kong Legislative Council election. Triggered by his actions to make a political statement during the oath-taking ceremony, he faced legal challenge from the government and later stripped of his office by the court on 15 November 2016.

Background

Leung graduated from the City University of Hong Kong and was the president of the City University of Hong Kong Students' Union in 2007. It was reported that he supported the government's appointment of Way Kuo to be the president of the City University of Hong Kong and developed a close relationship with the Chinese Liaison Office in Hong Kong. Leung later admitted that they have met but he did not agree with their stance.^[1] He became a digital marketer after his graduation.

In January 2015, Leung established Youngspiration with a group of like-minded people who participated in the 2014 Occupy protests, often dubbed the "Umbrella Movement". It stands on a localist platform, against the influx of Chinese immigrants and tourists. In the 2015 District Council election, Youngspiration fielded nine candidates, in which Leung himself stood in Kwun Lung against pro-Beijing Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB) Yeung Hoi-wing who succeeded veteran Ip Kwok-him. Leung lost the election by a margin of about 900 votes.^[2] Only one of the nine Youngspiration candidates was elected.

Legislative Councillor and disqualification

In the 2016 Legislative Council election, Youngspiration formed an electoral alliance under the name of "ALLinHK" with other newly founded Umbrella groups. Leung planned to stand in the Hong Kong Island constituency but later stood in New Territories West. He withdrew his nomination at the last moment and led his own ticket in New Territories East as a backup plan right before Hong Kong Indigenous' Edward Leung was disqualified by the Electoral Affairs Commission (EAC) for his pro-independence stance.^[3] Baggio Leung was elected, receiving 37,997 votes.^[4]

On 12 October 2016 in the first meeting of the session, Leung and his party colleague Yau Wai-ching who inserted their own words into the official script had their oaths rejected. They were criticised for pronouncing China as "Chee-na", a term considered derogatory since the Second Sino-Japanese War, and Yau was mispronouncing "People’s Republic of China" as "people’s re-fucking of Chee-na".^[5] As a result, their qualification as legislators was challenged by the government in court.^[6] The National People's Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC) intervened the court case by interpreting the Article 104 of the Basic Law of Hong Kong to "clarify" the provision of the legislators to swear allegiance to Hong Kong as part of China when they take office, stating that they would firmly oppose Hong Kong independence. On November 15, the court vacated the two legislators' seats.^[7]

References

1. "【政情】青年新政梁頌恆從染紅之路走進黃傘 (English translated: Youngspiration's Leung road from pro-Communist to pro-democracy)". now TV. 25 November 2015.
2. "The comeback kids: From district council election losers to Hong Kong lawmakers in 10 months". Hong Kong Free Press. 8 September 2016.
3. "Localists submit nomination for 'substitute candidate' in LegCo election". Hong Kong Free Press. 29 July 2016.
4. Phillips, Tom; Cheung, Eric (5 September 2016). "Hong Kong elections: anti-Beijing activists gain foothold in power" – via The Guardian.
5. "Three rejections and multiple deviations mark Hong Kong Legislative Council swearing-in". South China Morning Post. 12 October 2016.
6. "Hong Kong government fails to block localist duo from retaking Legco oaths, but wins right to seek judicial review". South China Morning Post. 18 October 2016.
7. "Hong Kong court rules localist lawmakers must vacate Legco seats". South China Morning Post. 15 November 2016.