The ongoing meeting of China’s National People’s Congress in Beijing will significantly revise Hong Kong‘s electoral system to ensure that “patriots rule Hong Kong. A new public opinion survey shows that 57 percent of respondents believe the Legislative Council election will be unfair, assuming the government holds it in September.
Some scholars have analyzed that Beijing and the Hong Kong government have used their executive power to interfere with Hong Kong people’s freedom to vote, distorting the election results and restricting opposing voices from entering the legislature, but the opposing voices will not go away and may take to the streets, causing a potentially greater social drain.
The session of the Chinese National People’s Congress (NPC) opened last Friday (March 5) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, and the draft amendment to Hong Kong’s electoral system was placed as the seventh item on the agenda, including the election of the Chief Executive and the election of the Legislative Council, which will be significantly revised to ensure that “patriots will rule Hong Kong.
According to several Hong Kong pro-Beijing media reports, Beijing intends to increase the number of seats in the Legislative Council election from the current 70 to 90, increase the number of members of the Chief Executive Election Committee from the original 1,200 to 1,500, and abolish five “super district council” seats in the Legislative Council, and initiate the establishment of a Qualifications Committee. The proposal to set up a qualification committee to examine the eligibility of candidates for the Legislative Council election.
57% of respondents say the Legislative Council election will be unfair
As early as before the opening of China’s National People’s Congress, Xia Baolong, director of China’s Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office, already talked about the criteria of “patriots ruling Hong Kong” in a seminar on February 22, to ensure that the composition of Hong Kong’s executive, legislative and judicial bodies, as well as the heads of important statutory bodies, are filled by true patriots.
The election of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong was originally scheduled for September 6 last year, but Chief Executive Carrie Lam postponed the election for one year to September 5 this year, citing the seriousness of the new pneumonia Epidemic in late July last year.
The Election Observation Project, jointly established by the Centre for Comparative Governance and Policy Studies of the Department of Politics and International Relations of the Hong Kong Baptist University and Civil Rights Watch, and the “We the People of Hong Kong” Opinion Group of the Hong Kong Public Opinion Programme, conducted an online survey from February 18 to 22 to gauge the public’s views on the news and the public’s Perception of the election. The online survey was conducted from February 18 to 22 to gauge public confidence in press freedom and the 2021 Legislative Council election.
The question asked in the online survey was: Assuming the government holds the Legislative Council election in September this year as planned, how fair or unfair do you think the election will be?
Scholars say non-establishment supporters have different opinions
According to political orientation, 87% of the 5,385 self-proclaimed democratic supporters thought the Legislative Council election would be unfair, while only 7% thought it would be fair. 546 self-proclaimed non-democratic supporters were more divided, 39% thought it would be unfair, 36% thought it would be fair, and 15% thought half-half.
In response to a question from the Voice of America, Hong Kong Institute of Public Opinion Research’s deputy CEO Jianhua Zhong said that Beijing and the Hong Kong government have used their executive power to interfere with Hong Kong people’s freedom to vote and distort the election results. This survey shows that 39% of non-establishment supporters think the Legislative Council election will be unfair, which is 3 percentage points more than the 36% who think it will be fair. This response is very different from previous surveys, reflecting that non-establishment supporters are divided over Beijing’s drastic changes to Hong Kong’s electoral system.
Zhong Jianhua said, “These demands, these boundaries, in fact, it is obvious that the executive power is used to interfere with the people’s electoral choices, and it is obvious that this kind of is not from the election. So I believe that if our study is more than one or two days late to finish, the results are very likely. Because I believe that is very clear can understand the consequences of that, very clear will cause a more unfair election.”
Worried about the voice of opposition or take to the streets
Zhong Jianhua said, after Beijing significantly revised Hong Kong’s electoral system, will limit the opposition voice into the parliament, but the opposition voice will not disappear, may take to the streets, resulting in social consumption may be even greater.
Zhong Jianhua said: “That is to say, you will make the system to the results of decision-making, so that the process of the system are not generally recognized and complied with, any decision out must be questioned, unless you will question the people all arrested to ‘sit in prison (jail)’, must be questioned, when these people can not enter, or When these people can not enter, or on behalf of some views of people can not enter (system), they will not disappear these views, these views will come out of the streets, out of the system, in fact, outside the system to deal with these different views, resulting in a lot of social costs.”
Scholars say the Hong Kong Legislative Council will be “NPCization”
The Hong Kong Baptist University Department of Political Science and International Relations Associate Professor Kenneth Chan recently wrote in the newspaper that Beijing’s implementation of national security laws in Hong Kong symbolizes the end of the road to the “return of democracy,” and the so-called “second return” is through anti-democratic, anti-international, selective The so-called “second reunification” is carried out by means of anti-democracy, anti-international, selective amnesia and legal packaging of the struggle.
Even though no details have been officially announced, it can be seen that the regime has focused on eradicating and killing political dissidents, while creating an ambiguous “negative list” in the name of “national security” to abolish participation in the election. The negative list” is used to disqualify candidates and those who have already been elected, and to strengthen the manipulation of election results.
Chen said in an interview with the Voice of America that Beijing’s drastic revision of Hong Kong’s electoral system is a shock to the Hong Kong community and runs counter to democratization, and that it is expected that the Legislative Council will be “NPC-ized” and that opposition voices are just political vases. Chen Jialuo said: “This is a great shock to the whole society of Hong Kong, so to speak. We aspire to freedom, we aspire to a very open environment, that is, from politics to civil society to the scope of Education and so on, or the Legislative Council, District Council elections and so on, it is difficult to imagine that Hong Kong is moving towards democratization of this road. Now we are going in the opposite direction, ‘driving backwards’. Some commentaries will feel that the conclusion will soon be drawn that the Legislative Council is ‘NPC-ized’, and this will be the case. Because in the end to be able to participate in this election, or is accepted will not be ‘sieved away’, may be those people have to understand that they are doing a ‘political vase’ role only.”
Criticizing Beijing for violating its commitment to gradual democratization
Chen said that Beijing’s approach violates the promise of gradual democratization of the political system before the handover of sovereignty in the 1980s, driving backwards in democracy in Hong Kong.
The most important thing is that we can no longer look at the Basic Law to understand the constitutional environment and political development in Hong Kong,” Chen said. An example is Article 68 of the Basic Law on the election of the Legislative Council, a gradual and orderly process to a universal and equal election of the legislature, all members are elected in this way, and the original way of writing is to say that Hong Kong itself to negotiate, and then to the (Chinese National) People’s Congress for the record, the way of writing is such a 68, but you will see from 2000 onwards, the development of the political system to become a 5-step process However, you will see that since 2000, the development of the political system has become a 5-step process, with many rules and regulations, followed by a White Paper, “One Country, Two Systems White Paper” on comprehensive governance, to today’s National People’s Congress can directly go to amend (Basic Law) Annex I, II, to change our electoral methods, you will see the fundamental “Basic Law” written inside, with what we have always understood, and it (Beijing) is now doing is a completely different thing to come. “
Chen said Beijing believes it can take the lead at the international level and is no longer shy about being criticized for violating its international commitments under the Sino-British Joint Declaration on Hong Kong.
Chen Jialuo said: “It (Beijing) may feel that the so-called international community sanctions or in the United Nations level on the issue of Hong Kong discussion are good, it has been able to completely ignore, so you will see it violate the Sino-British Joint Declaration or, so that the international community’s expectations of Hong Kong lost, or can not do what they have promised to the international community, that is, in one country, two systems The high degree of autonomy of Hong Kong at the bottom, at this moment in the Xi Jinping era, is no longer a place he wants to focus on, and in the short term it’s clear that it’s further deepening the negative sentiment towards China around the world.”
Education ex-legislator undecided on re-election bid
In a press conference on Tuesday (March 9), former legislator of the democratic education sector Ip Kin-yuen said he still holds a wait-and-see attitude and it is difficult to say whether he will run again in the Legislative Council election, adding that he feels the current situation is regressing. He also said that he needed to consult other members of the Association and would also discuss with other democrats.
Forty-seven democrats participated in the “35+ Legislative Council Primary Election” in July last year, and were prosecuted by the National Security Division of the police for “suspected conspiracy to subvert state power”. Ip Kin-yuen said he was saddened by the regime’s current treatment of the pro-democracy camp, including mass arrests and prosecutions, and that he believed the situation “should not be like this”. Ip also said that the relevant practices will affect the space for political participation, and he believes that the difficulties faced by the democrats are not only the problem of the electoral system.
Pro-Beijing media cites news that the Legislative Council election has been postponed to December
According to a source quoted by the pro-Beijing online media “The Bus”, a timetable for the election of the Legislative Council and the Chief Executive Election Committee in Hong Kong has taken shape, and the initial proposal is expected to be adopted by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of China in mid-April this year, followed by local legislation in Hong Kong. Since it still takes Time to enact local legislation in Hong Kong, it is expected that the election of the Chief Executive Election Committee will be held in September first, and then the election of the Legislative Council will be held in December. Since the Standing Committee of China’s National People’s Congress (NPC) decided last year to delay the Legislative Council election for not less than one year, the delay to December this year is still in line with the NPC Standing Committee’s decision.
Hong Kong’s Sing Tao Daily reported on Tuesday that reliable information obtained by the newspaper also confirmed that the Hong Kong government is tentatively scheduled to hold the EC election in September and the Legislative Council election in December this year.
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