Hong Kong ousts independent lawmaker

Cheng Chung-tai, one of just two opposition figures left, was deemed disloyal on the basis of his previous statements and behaviour

A powerful new Hong Kong committee, tasked with vetting politicians and officials for their loyalty, disqualified an opposition lawmaker for the first time on Thursday, as authorities purge its institutions of anyone deemed disloyal to Beijing. Cheng Chung-tai, one of just two opposition figures left in the city’s legislature, was deemed disloyal on the basis of his previous statements and behaviour, chief secretary John Lee, who heads the vetting committee, told reporters. “To those who pretend to... bear allegiance to the government, I will not be deceived by their flowery speeches and their attempts to sugarcoat,” Mr. Lee said, adding Mr. Cheng had “lost his seat with immediate effect.”