HONG KONG – A top Chinese official today outlined plans to ensure only “patriots” run Hong Kong, as Beijing seeks to neuter any remaining democratic opposition and take a more direct role in how the business hub is run.
The landmark speech by Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office head Xia Baolong came just two weeks ahead of the annual meeting of China’s rubber-stamp legislature, as speculation grows that further measures are being planned to sew up control of the city.
“The most vital and pressing task to enforce rule by patriots is to improve the relevant systems, particularly the relevant electoral system,” Xia said, according to a speech published by his office.
“Being patriotic means loving the People’s Republic of China.”
Hong Kong has never been a democracy – something that has fuelled years of protests and resentment towards Beijing.
But until recently, the city had a veneer of choice that allowed a small and vibrant opposition to flourish at certain local elections.
After huge and often violent democracy protests swept the city in 2019 – and opposition politicians won a landslide in district council elections – Beijing responded with a major crackdown.
At its last annual meeting, China’s National People’s Congress imposed a sweeping national security law that outlawed much dissent in Hong Kong and radically transformed its relationship with the authoritarian mainland.
Hong Kongers are therefore looking closely at what the next meeting might bring.
Xia’s comments suggest Beijing is seeking to ensure no opposition candidates are able to stand in the city’s limited elections, and come after weeks of calls in China’s state media for such a purge.
Authorities, he said, must “close loopholes” that allow “anti-China troublemakers” into politics.
“Improving the relevant electoral system must be led by the central government.” – AFP, February 22, 2021
