China on March 30, 2021, gave its approval to the proposal for the most controversial and sweeping overhaul of Hong Kong’s electoral system. The passed proposal will slash the number of directly elected seats in the city’s legislature from half to about one-fifth and will tighten Beijing’s control in the Special Administrative Region- SAR.
The National People’s Congress Standing Committee approved the proposal unanimously, granting the election committee with new power to send 40 representatives to the legislative council, which has been expanded from 70 to 90 seats.
The major changes were first announced earlier in March 2021 at the annual session of the National People’s Congress in Beijing. It was then passed on 30 March by 167 members of the NPC Standing Committee.
What will change in Hong Kong’s electoral system?
With the passing of the new proposal by the Chinese Government:
• The geographical constituencies of the Hong Kong Legislative Council will be reduced from 35 to 20 seats, which will dramatically diminish the element of direct voting. Previously 35 of its 70 members were directly elected.
• The National Security Police Unit will help in scrutinizing the candidates and will submit a report to the newly formed vetting committee.
• The powerful new committee that will be vetting new candidates for the most significant elections in Hong Kong will be kept to fewer than 10 people and members will be decided by the two groups overseeing national security.
• The new committee will have an odd number of people and the Chairman will act as a tiebreaker. Furthermore, no judicial review or any form of the appeal of the body’s decision will be allowed for the candidates.
• The newly empowered election committee will also be expanded by 300 members.
• The new members will include the patriotic groups and the members of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference to further reinforcing the pro-establishment control of the body.
Explaining how Hongkongers will vote now |
| Under the new proposal, the Hongkongers will now only be able to directly vote for 20 representatives while the size of the Legislative Council has been expanded to 90 from 70. It automatically reduces the share of the elected representatives. The 70 other representatives will be broadly chosen from the pro-establishment bodies. On the other hand, the 1200-member Election Committee that chooses the Chief Executive of Hong Kong has also been expanded by 300 members and will now include Hong Kong’s representative to the Communist Party-controlled legislature. The expanded Election Committee will also choose 40 members of the Legislative Council, out of the remaining 70 representatives, while the remaining 30 members will be chosen by the functional constituencies which represents a range of trade, industry, and other interest groups. |
What will be the role of the new vetting committee?
Under the new proposal, the Candidate Eligibility Review Committee will be set up to review and confirm the eligibility of the candidates.
The Committee for Safeguarding the National Security will find whether the candidate for the election committee member or for the Office of Chief Executive meets the legal requirement. There will be no scope for legally challenging any form of findings.
Support to the overhauling of the electoral system:
Carrie Lam, the Hong Kong leader has claimed that the dissident voices will still exist in the city politics.
The leader mentioned that the whole arrangement will improve the electoral system of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. It is to ensure that patriots administrate Hong Kong.
The overhaul of the electoral system was also endorsed by the NPC Standing Committee.
China’s steps raise concern:
The recent steps taken by China have raised concern that Beijing might be rejecting the ‘one country two systems’ made to Hong Kong in 1997.
Even after facing fierce international condemnation, China gave its approval to the resolution, a move that will further smother the opposition voices in Hong Kong.
Background:
The protests in Hong Kong in 2019-20 have been seeing by Beijing as a direct challenge to its authority. The protests took place because of the introduction of the Fugitive Offenders Amendment Bill by the Government of Hong Kong.
The bill allowed extradition to jurisdictions, including Taiwan and mainland China. It raised concerns that residents of Hong Kong and visitors will be exposed to the legal system of China undermining Hong Kong’s autonomy.
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