A Chinese official responded on Friday to US criticism of planned changes to Hong Kong’s electoral law, noting the chaos surrounding the recent American presidential election.
Semi-autonomous Hong Kong is a domestic Chinese issue in which no foreign country has the right to interfere, said Zhang Xiaoming, deputy director of the State Council’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office.
“I don’t know how, after the United States Capitol took over on January 6, how the United States has such moral capital to point the finger at Hong Kong’s electoral institutions,” he said.
A member of the pro-China team is in a tent to support a proposal to change electoral rules for Hong Kong on a street in downtown Hong Kong on Friday. (AP)
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A statement by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken condemned what he called “China’s continued attack on democratic institutions in Hong Kong”. It followed the approval, on Thursday, by the Chinese legislature of a plan to increase Beijing’s control over how the Hong Kong legislature is chosen.
The changes would give a pro-Beijing Electoral Committee the responsibility to nominate all members of the Hong Kong legislature and directly elect some legislators to ensure that Hong Kong is run by “patriots” and exclude “anti-China” forces from exercising functions. important in governance.
The 1,500-member Electoral Committee will choose the chief executive of the territory and an unspecified “relatively large” number from its 90-seat legislature. The review raised concerns about reducing the proportion of directly elected legislators.
Pro-government groups, including the political organization Friends of Hong Kong, set up tents around the city to collect signatures in a demonstration of support for the changes. Nearly 200,000 residents have signed up so far, according to the signforhk2021.com website.
“These actions deny Hong Kongers a voice in their own government, limiting political participation, reducing democratic representation and stifling political debate,” said Blinken.
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Zhang compared the changes in Hong Kong’s electoral system as a “minimally invasive surgery” that will restore the health of the city’s “democratic system”.
“The distinguishing features of minimally invasive surgery are minor injuries, deep penetration and faster recovery,” he said, adding that Hong Kong residents will be able to live and work more peacefully as a result.
Zhang also said that the electoral changes are not aimed at excluding Hong Kong’s pro-democracy camp from the government structure, as anti-China forces cannot be equated with the opposition.
“The opposition, especially the pan-democrats, also has patriots and they can still run and be elected according to the law in the future,” he said.
Zhang’s comments came at a time when 47 pro-democracy activists and former lawmakers were charged in court for subversion last week for their involvement in an unofficial primary election that officials say was part of a plot to paralyze the Hong Kong government.
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Most prominent Hong Kong democracy advocates are currently in prison or in self-exile. Of the 47, only five received bail.
Protesters in Hong Kong in July 2020 protest the anniversary of Hong Kong’s move from Britain to China. (AP)
On Friday, 21 activists who were denied bail last week appeared in court for a bail review.
The court rejected 11 bail requests, including those from former lawmakers Claudia Mo and Leung Kwok-hung. The remaining 10 defendants withdrew their request. They will remain in custody.
For former legislator Emily Lau, a member of the Democratic Party of Hong Kong, Zhang’s words provide little guarantee that any appearance of democracy can still be maintained.
“I consider myself a patriot,” said Lau. “But our concern is that many people in my party and the pro-democracy camp may be excluded.”
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She said that even after lawmakers are elected, there is still an ongoing scrutiny throughout their service, as they can still be removed from their seats if they are found to be insufficiently patriotic.
“I don’t know what their definition of patriotism is, and that is worrying,” she said. “Once this (electoral system) is established, you will lose the confidence of the people, and that is bad for any government.”