Pro-democracy proponents lose ground in vote

HONG KONG — Hong Kong pro-democracy candidates won back only two of four seats in a crucial election in the semiautonomous Chinese region, final results showed Monday.

The results mean the opposition wasn’t able to recapture all its territory, losing some to pro-Beijing rivals in the city’s semi-democratic legislature. The four seats were among six left empty when a group of lawmakers were expelled following a 2016 controversy over their oaths, which they used to defy China.

Little-known activist Au Nok-hin won a key battleground. He was enlisted at the last minute after officials rejected the pro-democracy camp’s marquee candidate, Agnes Chow, for her party’s political platform.

The disqualifications of lawmakers and candidates have raised fears among activists and international groups that Hong Kong’s Beijingbacked government is taking an increasingly hard line on dissent.

“I won’t say the result today is a victory,” Au said after his results were announced. “We’ve paid a rather high price for it. The democracy camp has faced huge suppressions due to the political turmoil in these years.”

Au had called the vote a referendum on democracy in Hong Kong, but the prospect of democratic development looks increasingly distant after China’s rubber-stamp parliament voted Sunday to abolish presidential term limits, allowing President Xi Jinping to stay in power indefinitely.

Under the “one country, two systems” framework, Beijing promised to let Hong Kong maintain wide autonomy and civil liberties following its 1997 handover from Britain but fears are rising that China’s communist leaders are backtracking.