The veteran protester, better known by his nickname ``Long Hair,'' was ejected from the chamber by Legco president Rita Fan for waving a placard slamming Chief Executive Donald Tsang in Legco.

``Some legislators love using the question mark,'' Leung said. ``Why can't I use the exclamation mark?''

It's the third time this year Leung has been ordered out of the chamber for misconduct.

Sporting a T-shirt calling for the vindication of the June Fourth protesters, Leung brandished a hand-drawn placard demanding democracy and condemning the small-circle chief executive election as Tsang delivered his opening speech at Monday's session.

Fan warned Leung after the speech, saying he had breached the council's Rules of Procedures by displaying slogans in the normally staid chamber.

But Leung ignored Fan's request to remove himself and his placard from the chamber. He responded that although other legislators chose to express their views by raising questions to Tsang, he had the right to choose his own form of expression.

``The placard is my personal property. Secretary for Education and Manpower Arthur Li has also been seen in this chamber playing computer games during a Legco meeting, so why didn't you ask him to remove his computer then?''

Leung's comments obviously embarrassed Li, who also attended Monday's session. The computer game incident led to calls for a public apology in December 2003.

Leung's defiance led Fan to suspend the meeting for about 15 minutes while she invited Leung to adjourn to her office for a brief discussion. But Leung refused to accept her judgment, earning him his third expulsion for the year.

As a parting gesture, Leung ripped up a copy of Tsang's fourth report on constitutional reform.

Legislator Chan Kam-lam, of the Democratic Alliance for Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong, described the lawmaker's behavior as shameful.

Leung said he had no regrets but was disappointed with Fan's expulsion order.

He also criticized Tsang for claims made yesterday that a government poll in April revealed that universal suffrage and Article 23 legislation only ranked 13th and 18th in the 25 top concerns of the public.

``We should never tolerate a Chief Executive elected by the 800-strong Election Committee to cheat all 6.8 million people in Hong Kong,'' Leung said.

michael.ng@singtaonewscorp.com

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