Hong Kong democrats defeated in key vote

HONG KONG: Hong Kong’s democracy camp lost out yesterday in a critical by-election as the city’s pro-Beijing establishment further cemented its grip.

The result is another blow to the democratic movement as room for opposition in semi- autonomous Hong Kong shrinks under an assertive China.

Its representation in the legislature took a hit in 2016 when six elected lawmakers, including pro-independence activists and former protest leaders, were disqualified following an unprecedented intervention from Beijing.

After the count ended in the early hours of Monday, the democratic camp was left with 26 seats out of 70, meaning they will continue to be outgunned on most bills under the legislature’s ‘split voting system’ as they failed to regain the veto power they lost due to the disqualifications.

In earlier by- elections in March the democracy camp only managed to take back two of the four contested seats.

The Kowloon West seat contested Sunday had been vacated by prodemocracy activist Lau Siu-lai, one of the legislators ousted from parliament, who was barred last month from trying to win back her seat because of her support for selfdetermination for Hong Kong.

She was the latest candidate to be blocked from standing as Beijing says it will not tolerate any challenges to its territorial sovereignty.

Others who have advocated independence or selfdetermination have also been barred previously.

Veteran former pro- democracy lawmaker Lee Cheuk-yan was defeated by pro- establishment candidate Rebecca Chan, a former journalist who has drawn criticism for suggesting that she would not interview pro-independence activists as it would mean providing a platform for their beliefs – a view shared by Beijing.

Chan last month said the government’s refusal to extend the work visa of senior Financial Times journalist Victor Mallet after he chaired a talk by an independence activist at the city’s press club had nothing to do with press freedom, local media reported. — AFP