China’s plan to control HK elections

Special Desk

IN a new move the China’s legislature has approved a resolution to overhaul Hong Kong’s electoral system.

The latest Chinese move follows a series of measures that have tightened Beijing’s grip on Hong Kong, including the passing of a national security law and a crackdown on activists and opposition politicians. Critics say they will effectively wipe out any remaining opposition.

The National People’s Congress (NPC) passed a resolution “patriots governing Hong Kong” which will reduce democratic representation and allow a pro-Beijing panel to vet and elect candidates. The former British colony was handed back to China in 1997 under a model called “one country, two systems”.

Under the deal, which gave the territory freedoms not available in mainland China, Hong Kong also had its own mini-constitution and an elected parliament.

Detailed legislation will now be drafted and could be enacted in Hong Kong within the next few months. The UK says it will “hollow out the space for democratic debate” in Hong Kong.

Almost 24 years after China took back control of Hong Kong from Britain, this was the moment it remade the free-wheeling, sometimes unruly territory’s political system in its own image. The symbolism couldn’t have been starker.

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There have been other milestones in recent years at which observers have pronounced the death of Hong Kong. The national security law, for example, has all but wiped out the ability to express dissent on the streets.