Xi Challenges Biden With Move to Snuff Out Hong Kong Dissent
- Four lawmakers disqualified under China’s new loyalty rules
- ‘We need to have a political body that’s composed of patriots’
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President Xi Jinping effectively neutered the most democratic institution under China’s rule, sending a message to Joe Biden that no amount of pressure will prompt him to tolerate dissent against the Communist Party.
China’s top legislative body on Wednesday passed a resolution allowing for the disqualification of any Hong Kong lawmakers who aren’t deemed sufficiently loyal. Chief Executive Carrie Lam’s government immediately banished four legislators, prompting the remaining 15 in the 70-seat Legislative Council to resign en masse.