Global Courant
HONG KONG — Lawmakers on Thursday voted unanimously to overhaul district-level elections by drastically cutting the number of directly elected seats in what activists say is a blow to democracy.
The move, critics said, removed some of the city’s last vestiges of democratic freedoms.
Under the new rules, only 88 seats will be directly elected by people, up from 452 seats in an election that saw a landslide victory by the democracy camp in 2019. The number of general seats would also be reduced from 479 to 470.
The changes could further stifle democratic opposition in Hong Kong, as a national security law imposed by China has already led to the arrests of former legislators and district councilors and the dissolution of several democratic political parties, including the Citizens’ Party.
After months of anti-government protests in 2019, China introduced a national security law in 2020 to criminalize what it considers subversion, secession, terrorism or collusion with foreign forces, with penalties of up to life imprisonment.
Mr Lemon Wong, the deputy chairman of Tuen Mun’s district council and one of the few remaining Democrats, said the changes meant “the pro-democracy camp has clearly disappeared in the election”.
“I will do my best to enjoy the remaining six months of my career as a councilor because it would be difficult to have a next time,” he added.
Candidates seeking to run must pass a national security background check and secure at least three nominations from various committees, effectively barring most opposition democracy advocates from running.
While district councils mainly focus on community-level issues such as street hygiene and bus stops, authorities in Beijing and Hong Kong say they want to ensure that only “patriots” can participate in upcoming district council elections.
Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee said in May that they must “close all loopholes to prevent the district councils from becoming a platform for black riots, Hong Kong independence and mutual destruction”.
Of the remaining uncontested seats, 40 percent would be appointed by the Chief Executive, leaving 27 ex officio seats. Another 40 percent would be elected to committees in each district covering issues such as crime and fire safety, with such committee members elected by a senior Hong Kong government official.
China had promised universal suffrage as the ultimate goal for Hong Kong in its mini-constitution, the Basic Law.
Pro-democracy politicians won 388 of the 452 district council seats in the last district council election in 2019, taking nearly 90 percent of the seats and humiliating the pro-Beijing camp.
