Sunday Star-Times

Hong Kong democracy faces the end

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Democracy activists face being barred from standing in Hong Kong elections under an overhaul of voting rules designed to tighten Beijing’s grip.

The plans will extend Beijing’s powers of appointmen­t to the Hong Kong parliament and grant it a veto over all candidates.

A senior Chinese official said that ‘‘defects’’ in the present electoral system had been revealed by ‘‘societal chaos’’ in the city, which needed protection from ‘‘anti-China, anti-Hong Kong’’ forces.

The plans emerged as the National People’s Congress, China’s 2900-strong rubber-stamp parliament, began its annual week-long session.

The election committee, which chooses the territory’s chief executive, will now also elect a ‘‘sizeable percentage’’ of the MPs to the legislativ­e council, the city parliament. It will also be ‘‘directly involved’’ in the nomination of all candidates.

Wang Chen, a senior congress official, said: ‘‘We need to take necessary measures to perfect Hong Kong’s elec- tion rules to eradicate hidden problems and risks in the system, to ensure a body of Hong Kong patriots will govern Hong Kong.’’

The election committee will be expanded from 1200 to 1500 members, according to Hong Kong media. The new additions are likely to be delegates from Hong Kong to the national parliament and to the political consultati­ve conference. These delegates are invariably friendly to Beijing.

District councillor­s, most of whom are members of the pan-democracy

camp, will lose 117 seats on the election committee.

The 70-seat legislativ­e council is likely to add 20 new members. The election committee will choose as many as 40 MPs, with the number elected by popular vote falling from 35 to 20. The remaining 30 MPs will be elected by groups such as business associatio­ns that are typically friendly to Beijing.

The city parliament elections, originally scheduled for last September,

may be deferred again, possibly until 2022, to implement the new election rules.

The congress has convened in a week in which 47 leading figures in Hong Kong’s democracy movement have been locked up and charged with conspiring to subvert state power. It is the largest case brought so far under a draconian national security law imposed by Beijing last year.

 ?? AP ?? Supporters of the 47 pro-democracy activists charged with conspiracy wave mobile phone lights and sing outside a court in Hong Kong. Beijing is about to make it impossible for democracy activists to stand in the city’s elections.
AP Supporters of the 47 pro-democracy activists charged with conspiracy wave mobile phone lights and sing outside a court in Hong Kong. Beijing is about to make it impossible for democracy activists to stand in the city’s elections.

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