Beijing uses electoral reform to tighten grip on Hong Kong

China’s top lawmaking body has announced plans to ensure that only “patriots” can govern Hong Kong, dealing a severe blow to remaining hopes of democracy in the territory. The new plans will further tighten Beijing’s grip on the global financial hub following the imposition of tough security laws last June.

Official proposals for the reforms have not yet been released, but local reports suggest that all parliamentary candidates would be vetted by Hong Kong’s pro-Beijing electoral committee, while district councillors would be removed from the committee that chooses the chief executive.

Willie Lam, China analyst at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, told AFP that if the measures pass as he expects they will, “then the voice of the opposition will be effectively silenced. This will effectively wipe out any remaining opposition”.

The National People’s Congress (NPC), China’s ‘rubber-stamp parliament’, is expected to pass the changes at its annual session, which opened on Friday and will last a week. Elections for Hong Kong’s legislature are likely to be deferred for a second year to September 2022 as Beijing plans the major overhaul of the territory’s electoral system.

The plans for electoral reform follow a series of moves by Beijing to crush dissent in Hong Kong. The crackdown that followed mass anti-government protests in 2019 has left most high-profile pro-democracy politicians and activists either in jail or in exile, while sweeping national security laws imposed in June introduced new crimes with severe penalties and allowed mainland security personnel to legally operate in Hong Kong with impunity.

Critics say Beijing’s ongoing moves to crush dissent are a betrayal of the “one country, two systems” agreement it made with the UK in 1984. Under the agreement, Hong Kong, a former British colony, was allowed to continue with its own legal system and have rights including free speech and freedom of the press.

Speaking to the annual session of the NPC, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang warned the world not to interfere with the new measures. He said: “We will resolutely guard against and deter external forces’ interference in the affairs of Hong Kong.”

NPC vice-chairman Wang Chen said the changes were needed because “the rioting and turbulence that occurred in Hong Kong society reveals that the existing electoral system has clear loopholes and deficiencies”.

Chen confirmed that China will change the size, composition, and formation method of an electoral committee that chooses Hong Kong’s leader and give it powers to pick many of the city’s legislators. He said “risks in the system” needed to be removed to ensure that only “patriots” – Chinese Communist party loyalists – were in charge.