China parliament seeks to shake up Hong Kong politics, put 'patriots' in charge - official (updated)
04/03/2021 15:41
* NPC spokesman says HK electoral change on agenda
* Move will upend politics in "reverse democratisation" -
analyst
* HK govt says move will ensure Beijing's "overall
jurisdiction"
(Writes through)
By Greg Torode and James Pomfret
HONG KONG/BEIJING, March 4 (Reuters) - A senior Chinese
official on Thursday confirmed Beijing's intention to overhaul
Hong Kong's electoral system to ensure "patriots" are in charge,
potentially the biggest blow to the city's democracy since its
handover from British rule in 1997.
Zhang Yesui, a spokesman for the National People's Congress,
said it had the constitutional power to "improve" Hong Kong's
system and a draft decision would be discussed during the annual
parliamentary session which opens on Friday.
Hong Kong's Cable TV and Now TV, citing unnamed sources,
said after Zhang spoke the changes would include increasing the
size of an election committee to select Hong Kong’s leader from
1,200 to 1,500, and the city's legislature from 70 to 90 seats.
Any reforms would deal the most severe blow yet to the
democracy camp, just as 47 members, charged with subversion
under a new national security law, were remanded in custody and
mostly denied bail. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL2N2L206P
The moves are widely expected to deprive Hong Kong's
democratic camp of any hope of winning a majority in the city's
Legislative Council. Democrats have traditionally fared better
than pro-Beijing groups in direct elections for "geographic"
seats in the chamber urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2KX04Q but these popularly elected
seats look set to be diluted in the expanded body.
Beijing promised universal suffrage as an ultimate goal for
Hong Kong in its mini-constitution, the Basic Law.
But with no moves towards full democracy, Hong Kong was
rocked by months of sometimes violent anti-China protests in
2019, infuriating the Hong Kong government and Communist Party
rulers in Beijing.
Hong Kong diplomats, businesspeople and political activists
are watching developments closely, some fearing Beijing is keen
to further thwart a democratic opposition already threatened by
the parliament's imposition of the sweeping national security
law cracking down on dissent last June.
Recent developments showed the electoral system "needs to be
improved to keep up with the times" and to fully implement the
principle of "patriots governing Hong Kong", NPC spokesman Zhang
said.
The parliament had "supreme state power", he added, under
the constitution in deciding on changes to Hong Kong's electoral
system.
'REVERSE DEMOCRATISATION'
Hong Kong returned to Chinese rule with guarantees its
widespread freedoms, extensive autonomy and capitalist way of
life would continue under the "one country, two systems" model.
Political scientist Sonny Lo told Reuters the NPC's planned
moves would lead to "reverse democratisation".
"The democrats will be condemned to be a permanent minority
under this system," he said.
"It will be a bitter lesson for them... It is turning the
clock back and it will wipe out all the democratic progress" of
the last years of colonial rule and the first two decades of
Hong Kong under Chinese rule.
Some observers are bracing for moves to reduce democratic
representation in the election committee and diminish their
ability to nominate candidates to run for the highest office.
The grouping must convene before Chief Executive Carrie Lam's
five-year term ends in July next year.
A broader use of patriotic oaths is also expected to enforce
loyalty - action which has already been used to disqualify some
democratic politicians from the legislature.
While critics say the security law has been used to crush
dissent and curb freedoms, Beijing and Hong Kong officials say
it was vital to end the 2019 violence - political action they
say was partly manipulated by foreign governments.
A Hong Kong government spokesman backed the prospect of NPC
action, saying that only through "patriots governing Hong Kong"
could the Central Government's overall jurisdiction be
implemented, securing the stability of the city.
More than 10,000 people were arrested after the 2019 unrest
that saw protesters target China's liaison office in the city,
state banks and local government buildings and setting fires and
daubing graffiti over businesses seen as pro-China.
(Reporting by Greg Torode and James Pomfret in Hong Kong and
Yew Lun Tian in Beijing; additional reporting by Twinnie Siu in
Hong Kong; editing by John Stonestreet and Nick Macfie)
((annemarie.roantree@thomsonreuters.com; +852 97387151; Reuters
Messaging: annemarie.roantree.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))