Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam (林鄭月娥) yesterday hailed the outcome of a “patriots only” legislative election that saw a record-low voter turnout and government loyalists sweep every seat.
The territory selected new lawmakers on Sunday under fresh rules imposed by Beijing that dramatically cut directly elected seats and controlled who could stand for office after huge democracy protests convulsed Hong Kong two years ago.
Figures showed that just 30 percent of the electorate cast ballots, the lowest rate both of the period since the territory’s 1997 handover to China and the British colonial era.
Photo: AFP
Lam defended the new system and played down the poor turnout.
“Hong Kong is now back on the right track of one country, two systems,” she told reporters.
“We cannot copy and paste the so-called democratic system or rules of the Western countries,” she said, arguing that the new rules meant “anti-China” elements were now excluded and political calm restored.
When asked why only 1.3 million of the 4.5 million registered voters cast ballots, Lam replied: “What is the reason, I can’t analyze. You may need to turn to other opinion leaders.”
Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Zhao Lijian (趙立堅) blamed the low turnout on the COVID-19 pandemic and “anti-China elements bent on destroying Hong Kong and the interference of external forces.”
Lam yesterday flew to Beijing to meet Chinese leaders as focus shifts to whether she will get backing for a second term in March when a 1,500-strong Election Committee stacked with Beijing loyalists is to pick the territory’s next leader.
With her public approval ratings at about 36 percent, Lam has so far declined to say whether she would seek a second term.
Hong Kong has never been a full democracy under either Britain or China, the source of years of protests. Beijing responded to months of huge rallies in 2019 by imposing a National Security Law criminalizing much dissent and political reforms to remove anyone deemed unpatriotic.
Most of the territory’s prominent democracy advocates — including many former elected lawmakers — are either in jail, have fled overseas or been disqualified. Alongside screening out “anti-China” elements, directly elected seats were slashed from half to 22 percent. The largest chunk — 40 — were picked by the Election Committee. The remaining 30 were chosen by larger pro-Beijing committees that represent special interest and industry groups.
Only 11 of the 153 candidates who made it through the vetting process were identified as “centrist” or “non-establishment” by local media, but none won enough votes.
The result is a Legislative Council stacked with government loyalists. Analysts said the new system could leave Hong Kong’s rulers even more out of touch with its residents.
“The tension between the authorities and the people will remain in place for a long time while the legislators won’t be mediators because they have to toe Beijing’s line,” Chung Kim-wah (鍾劍華) of the Hong Kong Public Opinion Research Institute said.
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