Activists top polls, defying security law
HONG KONG — Young activists and localist candidates dominated Hong Kong’s unofficial prodemocracy primaries over the weekend, with hundreds of thousands of people voting despite warnings the election could violate the territory’s new security law imposed by Beijing.
Candidates who topped the polls were in their 40s or younger in every constituency and included prominent prodemocracy activists Joshua Wong and Jimmy Sham, who helped organize many of last year’s antigovernment protests that had alarmed the central government in Beijing.
Incumbent lawmakers such as Ted Hui and Eddie Chu, known for their vocal and outspoken criticism in legislative meetings, also took top spots.
The polls were held to whittle the prodemocracy camp’s candidates to field a unified slate in a legislative election in September in hopes of achieving a “35plus” majority in the 70seat legislature.
The prodemocracy camp has pledged to vote down the budget if they attain majority. Under Hong Kong’s miniconstitution, known as the Basic Law, the city’s leader — currently Carrie Lam — must resign if an important bill such as the budget is vetoed twice.
“The victory of movement activists in the primary implies the continuation of the spirit of our resistance against China’s growing curbs over the city’s freedoms,” Wong wrote in a Facebook post.
Wong also said at the prodemocracy camp’s news conference on Wednesday that President Trump’s signing of the Hong Kong Autonomy Act — which paves the way for sanctions to be imposed on Chinese officials in retaliation for the national security law — has shown that Beijing’s actions will backfire on them.
“Eroding the freedom of Hong Kong should not be the way out, otherwise more and more action might be taken by world leaders in the future,” he said.
Lam on Monday warned organizers and candidates of the primary that the event could be considered subversive under the city’s tough new national security law if the objective is to resist every policy initiative of the government.
The sweeping law Beijing enacted on June 30 in response to last year’s often violent protests calling for greater democracy and police accountability outlaws secessionist, subversive and terrorist activities, as well as collusion with foreign forces to intervene in the city’s affairs. The maximum punishment for serious offenders is life imprisonment.