Four former Hong Kong lawmakers have been released after spending more than four years in prison for their conviction under a Beijing-imposed law that crushed a once-thriving pro-democracy movement.

Hong Kong's pro-democracy lawmakers have handed in their resignations following a move by the city's government to disqualify four pro-democracy legislators. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu)HONG KONG – Pro-democracy legislators in Hong Kong began resigning Thursday to protest the expulsion of four other lawmakers, heightening a conflict with Beijing over the semi-autonomous Chinese territory’s future. Its Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office called the mass resignation “an open challenge” to the authority of the central government and the Basic Law, Hong Kong’s constitution. “We lost our check-and-balance power, and all the constitutional power in Hong Kong rests in the chief executive's hands,” Wu said. The mass departure will leave Hong Kong’s legislature with just 43 legislators, 41 of whom belong to the pro-Beijing bloc.