HONG KONG (AP) — A court in Hong Kong has disqualified four opposition lawmakers from office for having used their oath-taking as an apparent protest against Beijing.

The Chinese territory's Court of First Instance on Friday ruled that the four had not been sincere when they altered their oaths in various ways and declared their seats vacant.

That follows the government's successful move last year to disqualify two other young lawmakers who used an anti-China slur as a form of protest while being sworn in.

The four disqualified on Friday had originally been allowed to retake their oaths, which were accepted, unlike the other two who were disqualified last year without a second chance.