--- description: Edward Leung was rejected by the electoral commission because he advocates independence from China title: Pro-Independence Candidates Barred From Running in Hong Kong Elections image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb96f7a20f076636e/6988a0e6fb4eac8f5a88e993/gettyimages-585195350.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Hong Kong](/tag/hong-kong/) ## Hong Kong Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Hong Kong Is Banning Pro-Independence Candidates From Running in Elections by [Rishi Iyengar](/author/rishi-iyengar/) ## Rishi Iyengar Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Aug 3, 2016 3:53 AM CUT  Edward Leung of the Hong Kong Indigenous party, arrives at the 2016 Legislative Council Election Briefing for Candidates in Hong Kong on August 2, 2016. Edward Leung of the Hong Kong Indigenous party, arrives at the 2016 Legislative Council Election Briefing for Candidates in Hong Kong on August 2, 2016.Anthony Wallace—AFP/Getty Images by [Rishi Iyengar](/author/rishi-iyengar/) ## Rishi Iyengar Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Aug 3, 2016 3:53 AM CUT A briefing by Hong Kong’s top electoral regulatory body was [forced to shut down](http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/1998201/hong-kong-indigenous-edward-leung-disqualified-legislative "undefined") Tuesday, after it barred a pro-independence leader from standing for election. Several members of the city’s pro-democracy and so-called localist parties disrupted the briefing and stormed the stage to protest Edward Leung’s rejection by the Electoral Affairs Commission, the _South China Morning Post_ reports. Leung has been at the forefront of Hong Kong’s [localist movement](http://time.com/4049700/hong-kong-independence-occupy-umbrella-localist/ "undefined"), which calls for varying degrees of autonomy and even independence from the mainland, but he [signed a declaration](http://news.rthk.hk/rthk/en/component/k2/1275585-20160728.htm "undefined") stating that Hong Kong is an “inseparable part” of China in order to nominate himself for September’s legislative election. The commission rejected his candidacy regardless, however, with a representative saying there were doubts that he had “genuinely changed his previous stance for independence.” Five other candidates have also seen their nominations rejected by the commission over their views on Hong Kong independence, the _Post_ reports, while 42 other pan-democrat and localist candidates have been approved despite refusing to sign the declaration. The decision has incensed the city’s pro-democracy politicians and activists, with many — including Leung himself — saying the independent electoral agency is being “manipulated” by the Hong Kong government and is conducting a “political screening” of candidates. \[[_SCMP_](http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/1998201/hong-kong-indigenous-edward-leung-disqualified-legislative "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4436253/hong-kong-election-briefing-protests-edward-leung-china-independence/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4436253/hong-kong-election-briefing-protests-edward-leung-china-independence/"},"headline":"Hong Kong Is Banning Pro-Independence Candidates From Running in Elections","datePublished":"2016-08-03T03:53:15.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T23:44:06.820Z","description":"The bans raise concerns over the neutrality of Hong Kong's electoral agency","url":"https://time.com/4436253/hong-kong-election-briefing-protests-edward-leung-china-independence/","keywords":["Hong Kong","Hong Kong topic","China","protests","Election","independence"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb96f7a20f076636e/6988a0e6fb4eac8f5a88e993/gettyimages-585195350.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Rishi Iyengar","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/rishi-iyengar/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb96f7a20f076636e/6988a0e6fb4eac8f5a88e993/gettyimages-585195350.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"HONG KONG-CHINA-POLITICS-DEMOCRACY-INDEPENDENCE","caption":"HONG KONG-CHINA-POLITICS-DEMOCRACY-INDEPENDENCE","creditText":"Anthony Wallace—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/hong-kong/","name":"Hong Kong"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4436253/hong-kong-election-briefing-protests-edward-leung-china-independence/","name":"Hong Kong Is Banning Pro-Independence Candidates From Running in Elections"}}]}] ```