Photo/Illutration Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam attends a press conference in Hong Kong on July 13. (AP Photo)

HONG KONG--Hong Kong’s leader said Tuesday that elected district councilors will still need to take an oath pledging allegiance to Hong Kong despite the resignation of dozens of councilors who are refusing to do so.

Some 170 district councilors, most of them supporters of the semiautonomous Chinese territory’s beleaguered pro-democracy movement have resigned in the past week rather than take the oath following media reports that they may have to repay their wages if they are later disqualified from office.

The requirement that the city’s more than 400 district councilors take the oath was introduced after a bill was passed in May. Previously, only lawmakers and government officials were required to take the oath and pledge allegiance to Hong Kong and the government.

The requirement is seen as part of a broader crackdown on the pro-democracy movement in the former British colony, which has seen an erosion of the freedoms it was promised it could maintain after being handed to Chinese control in 1997.

A national security law imposed by Beijing last year has led to the arrest of many of the city’s prominent pro-democracy figures, including Joshua Wong and media tycoon Jimmy Lai. A majority of such activists are currently behind bars or have fled abroad.

Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam said at a regular news conference Tuesday that she is sure that given the security law, each district councilor will gauge their past behavior to check if they have “crossed a line.”

“Individual incumbent district councilors of their own accord took some actions after seeing that there are certain legal requirements, that is, legal liabilities will have to be borne if they have violated certain rules and regulations,” Lam said. “They decided to resign. This is out of our control.”

Lam said that despite the exodus of district councilors, authorities will press on with the oath-taking because they “have to implement the law.”

Hong Kong’s district councilors largely take care of municipal matters such as organizing community building activities and ensuring that public facilities are in order. Their election has taken on greater importance, however, since Hong Kong was rocked by pro-democracy protests for much of 2019.

In 2019 elections, many pro-democracy candidates unseated incumbent councilors seen as loyal to Beijing.

Among the councilors to resign over the oath is Democratic Party chairman Lo Kin-hei, who has been a district councilor since 2012.

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