Legislative Council (LegCo) building of China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. (Photo: Xinhua)

After four opposition lawmakers were disqualified from the legislature in Hong Kong on Wednesday, which was in line with the latest legal opinion given by China’s top legislature, 19 opposition lawmakers resigned en masse. Such a political maneuver, as some observers said, won’t affect LegCo operations.

The mass resignation was announced after the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee formulated a set of arrangements, including the standards for disqualifying Hong Kong LegCo lawmakers.

Following decision, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government disqualified four opposition LegCo members based on the country’s top legislature’s decision about Hong Kong lawmakers’ qualifications to hold office.

The lawmakers are protesting the disqualification of opposition lawmakers  Dennis Kwok Wing-hang, Alvin Yeung Ngok-kiu, Kwok Ka-ki and Kenneth Leung Kai-cheong, who have notorious records for creating trouble at LegCo and were also disqualified by the Electoral Affairs Commission (EAC) in July for failing to meet the requirements of the elections.

Prior to the mass resignation, Carrie Lam, chief executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government, said at a press conference on Wednesday that the mass resignation won’t affect the operations of LegCo, as the number of LegCo members meets the criteria. She also denied that the legislature would become a “rubber stamp.”