Hong Kong’s government passed the biggest reconstruction of its political system in the quarter-century after the British regime on Thursday, in a definitive action to advance Beijing’s power over the self-governing city. The movement was immediately condemned by the United States, which blamed China for undermining Hong Kong’s democratic systems and said limiting the electoral representation of residents of the area would not encourage long-term adherence.
The reforms will lessen the proportion of seats in the legislature that are supplied by direct polls from half to less than a quarter. A fresh body will vet candidates and prevent those considered insufficiently dedicated towards China from standing.” These 600-or-so pages of the legislation come down to just a few words: patriots ruling Hong Kong,” said Peter Shiu, a pro-Beijing lawmaker. Most of the reforms were declared by China in March, though Hong Kong officials later gave more details, such as redrawing electorate boundaries and criminalizing calls for polls to be left blank.
The steps were passed with 40 votes in support and two against. The pro-Beijing government has encountered no adversary in the legislature since last year when China disentitled some pro-democracy lawmakers and others left in objection. Chinese officials have said the electoral shake-up is intended at getting cleared of “loopholes and deficiencies” that frightened national security during the anti-government uprising in 2019 and assure only “patriots” control the city. The legislature will grow in size to 90 seats from 70. The number of seats filled by direct vote will reduce to 20 from 35. Forty seats will be packed by an election committee, which is also effective for taking the chief executive.
The new vetting committee authorized to exclude candidates will operate with national security officials to assure those standing are faithful to Beijing. In a report, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken blamed China for proceeding to weaken democratic companies in Hong Kong and called on Beijing and Hong Kong officials to clear and withdraw charges against everyone imposed under the national security law. Blinken said modifying the form of the legislature “severely constrains people in Hong Kong from meaningfully participating in their governance and having their voices heard.”
“Decreasing Hong Kong resident electoral representation will not foster long-term political and social stability for Hong Kong,” he continued. Polls for the election committee are fixed for September 19, and the legislature three months later. The committee will appoint a chief executive on March 27, 2022. Chief executive Carrie Lam has not made apparent whether she will attempt re-election. In 2019 she encountered the largest and most violent anti-government turmoils since the handover from the British government in 1997, after introducing a bill to provide extraditions to China.
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China had agreed on a universal ballot as an ultimate aim for Hong Kong in its mini-constitution, the Basic Law, which also affirms the city has wide-ranging freedom from Beijing. Democracy campaigners and Western countries state the political overhaul leads the city in the opposite direction, transmitting the democratic opposition with the most limited space it has had since the handover. Since China inflicted a national security bill in 2020 to criminalize what it regards destruction, secessionism, terrorism, or collusion with foreign forces, most pro-democracy activists and lawmakers have discovered themselves ensnared by it or detained for other reasons.
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