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China tightens grip on Hong Kong with sweeping electoral shake-up
Changes to the electoral system essentially mean lawmakers standing for elections in Hong Kong have to be vetted for their loyalty to the mainland, thereby ensuring that only “patriotic” candidates run for office in the special administrative region
China on Tuesday approved sweeping changes to Hong Kong’s electoral system, tightening Beijing’s control over the city and cutting down democratic representation in the financial hub.
Chinese President Xi Jinping signed presidential orders to formalise the Hong Kong electoral reform plan on Tuesday.
“The goal of the overhaul is to make sure that the bodies of power in Hong Kong are run by patriots,” state media reported, adding that it was another major step in tackling the “loopholes in the city’s governance structure”.
The changes to the electoral system essentially mean lawmakers standing for elections in Hong Kong have to be vetted for their loyalty to the mainland, thereby ensuring that only “patriotic” candidates run for office in the special administrative region (SAR).
It could mean the end of opposition and democracy in the city, critics have warned about the sweeping changes.
As a result of the changes, the number of seats in Hong Kong’s legislature will be increased from 70 to 90.
Only 20 seats will be set aside for direct elections. Of the remaining seats, 40 will be chosen by a pro-Beijing election committee that currently selects Hong Kong’s chief executive and 30 will be picked by groups representing various professions and interests.
The number of members on the election committee responsible for selecting the chief executive will go up from 1,200 to 1,500.
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Also, 117 seats previously given to community district councillors - who are elected directly by the public and deal with local issues - will be replaced by government-appointed positions.
The changes follow the imposition of a national security law in Hong Kong last year, which has been criticised as draconian and said to have been brought in to crush anti-Beijing dissent.
Beijing moved with speed to bring in the changes to get rid of what the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC) thought were “loopholes and deficiencies” threatening national security during the pro-democracy protests in 2019.
Beijing’s parliament, the National People’s Congress (NPC), had approved the plan during its annual session earlier in March.
On Tuesday, news agency Xinhua reported that the country’s top decision-making body, the NPC standing committee, voted unanimously to pass it.
The move amends the annexes of Hong Kong’s mini-constitution, known as the “Basic Law”.
Under the changed system, a candidate qualification review committee of the SAR has been set up to vet and confirm the qualifications of candidates for the election committee members, the Chief Executive, and the legislative council members, Xinhua reported.
The powerful vetting committee will monitor candidates for public office and work with national security authorities to ensure they are loyal to Beijing.
Britain handed Hong Kong back to China in 1997, and the Basic Law was created under the “one country, two systems” principle. It had given the city more freedoms than the mainland, including freedom of speech, which are supposed to remain intact until 2047.
China firmly believes the electoral reform and the earlier national security law for Hong Kong, as well as other potential reforms that could take place in the future, are “the right things to do and must be done”, whether the West likes them or not, analysts told state media.
