Hong Kong’s Legislative Council on Thursday (27) passed Beijing’s so-called “improvement” bill for Hong Kong’s electoral system, meaning that the number of directly elected members of the Legislative Council will be cut to a new low. Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs John Tsang Kwok-wai claimed that the public “reacted positively to the amendment”, and a number of pro-Beijing lawmakers at the meeting even claimed that the amendment was “progress”. The Democratic Party’s Chairman Law Kin-hei said the result was expected and criticized it as a retrograde step.
At noon, the Legislative Council passed the second reading of the motion with 40 votes in favor and 2 votes against. At 4:00 p.m., another 40 votes for and 2 votes against passed the third reading of the Electoral Reform Bill. The Legislative Council, which is monopolized by pro-Beijing legislators, passed the second and third readings in one day, while the negative votes were cast by the only remaining non-Beijing legislators, Cheng Chung-tai and Chan Pui-yin.
Democratic Party Chairman Law Kin-hei met with the media outside the Legislative Council building and believed that the result was expected. He criticized the revision of the election system to reduce public participation as a retrograde step. He said, “Many opinion polls have reflected that many citizens think this change is a backward step towards true universal suffrage, and this is a situation we are not happy to see at all.”
The passed Perfection of Electoral System (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill 2021 will completely change the election method and composition of Hong Kong’s Legislative Council, Chief Executive and Election Committee, bringing the direct election status of Hong Kong’s electoral system to a new low.
Under the new system, candidates running for the Chief Executive, the Legislative Council or the Election Committee must pass the vetting process of the newly established “Candidature Committee”. And the Legislative Council direct election component from its own more than half, but only about 20% of the seats from the review of the direct election.
Hong Kong Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs John Tsang Kwok-wai, during the second reading debate in the Legislative Council, said that the public “positive response to the legislative amendments”, refuting foreign criticism of the program is a retrograde step in democracy.
The U.S. Consul General in Hong Kong and Macau, Hanscom Smith, said earlier that the new electoral system is essentially rigged and is a “huge step backwards”. British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab also said that the Chinese side further undermined international confidence.
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