Hong Kong people on Sunday (December 19) began to appoint their representatives to the city’s Legislative Council (the local parliament). Under new rules imposed by Beijing, only “patriots” can run.
Each of the 153 candidates had to give pledges of political loyalty to China and “patriotism” to be allowed to run for a seat. As a result, pro-democracy activists have been barred or waived from running, and most candidates display a similar profile.
Of the 90 seats in the Legislative Council (the “LegCo”) – the body responsible for passing laws in the former British colony – only 20 are open to universal suffrage, half as many as before, the rest being appointed by various committees and interest groups vested in the Chinese regime.
The new rules were imposed by Beijing as part of the takeover of Hong Kong after the gigantic pro-democracy protests of 2019. Even if the candidates won in Beijing have always been granted the majority of seats on the Council, a minority opponents was once tolerated there, which made it a place of often very lively debates. The new rules imposed by Beijing put an end to this tradition.
Beijing says this “improved” electoral system will eradicate “anti-Chinese” elements, and ensure that the “LegCo”, where debates could once be long and heated, will pass the new laws more quickly.
All Hong Kong people of voting age, or about 4.5 million people out of a total population of 7.5 million, can vote. It is legal in Hong Kong to abstain or to vote blank or null. On the other hand, encouraging these practices has been a criminal offense since this year.
Ten people have been arrested under the new law, mainly for boycott calls launched on social networks, and arrest warrants have been issued against pro-democracy activists who have taken refuge abroad who have also called to sulk the urns.
Police deployed more than 10,000 officers to the streets of Hong Kong on Sunday to prevent any incidents. The only real unknown in the ballot will therefore be the turnout, a thermometer of the adherence of Hong Kongers to the new electoral system.