China moves on elections limited to ‘patriots’

Lord Patten, the last colonial governor of Hong Kong, warned Friday night that China’s Communist Party had taken its most significant step yet towards tearing up the Sino-british Joint Declaration on Hong Kong after Beijing announced an overhaul of the city’s electoral system.

China moved to bar pro-democracy candidates from standing for election in Hong Kong and hinted at expanding the legislature to include more Beijing-appointed members.

“China’s Communist parliament has taken the biggest step so far to obliterate Hong Kong’s freedoms and aspirations for greater democracy under the rule of law,” said Patten.

“The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has ordained that in order to be a Chinese patriot you must swear allegiance to the Communist Party. This completely destroys the pledge of ‘one country, two systems.’ “

Patten went on to say the CCP was “a continuing and brutal danger to all who believe in free and open societies.”

China announced the plans at the annual meeting of its “rubber stamp” parliament. The CCP said it wanted “to safeguard national security,” amid mounting criticism from Western nations for Beijing’s suppression of the territory.

“We will resolutely guard against and deter external forces’ interference in the affairs of Hong Kong,” Li Keqiang, the country’s premier, said in an opening speech to the National People’s Congress in Beijing.

China’s parliament is expected to put forward a decision to “improve” Hong Kong’s electoral system that would allow Beijing to ensure only “patriots” can be elected to govern the territory. Opposition politicians have been deemed sufficiently “unpatriotic” to hold office.

A largely pro-beijing committee that elects Hong Kong’s leader will also choose a large part of the legislature, a top Chinese official announced Friday. He did not say how many legislators would be chosen by the committee.

Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post, citing unidentified sources, said it would be 30 seats in an expanded 90-seat legislature.

Elections for Hong Kong’s mini parliament could be delayed for a second year to allow for these changes, the newspaper also reported. They were already delayed last year. Critics, however, accused the government of using public health reasons to stifle opposition candidates from standing and potentially winning more seats.

In response, the European Union warned China Friday that it may take “additional steps” if there was further “serious deterioration of political freedoms and human rights in Hong Kong.”