Govt Salary Move No Olive Branch, Say Ex-lawmakers

Two disqualified lawmakers on Tuesday said that although they welcome the government's suggestion that they might not have to pay back the salaries they were given during their brief time in Legco, this cannot be seen as an olive branch.

They were commenting after the government said it had advised the Legco Commission that wages and allowances paid to four disqualified pro-democracy legislators could be written off, if Legco officials fail in their attempts to recoup the money.

One of the disqualified lawmakers, Lau Siu-lai, said this advice shouldn't be seen as a government olive branch to the pan-democratic camp as the administration is only stating something that is normal.

She also called for Legco to drop its demand for the repayment of salaries, being as the ousted legislators had worked to serve the public.

Meanwhile, another of the disqualified lawmakers, Leung Kwok-hung, said justice would only be partly served if their wages are written off, as it was unreasonable to strip the four of their seats in the first place.

Lau, Leung, Nathan Law, and Edward Yiu are each facing bills ranging from HK$2.7 million to HK$3.1 million. The Legco Commission says the the four were not entitled to receive the money as the courts ruled they didn't take their oaths properly.