President Xi Jinping effectively neutered the most democratic institution under China’s rule, sending a message to Joe Biden that no amount of pressure will prompt him to tolerate dissent against the Communist Party.
China’s top legislative body on Wednesday passed a resolution allowing for the disqualification of any Hong Kong lawmakers who aren’t deemed sufficiently loyal. Chief Executive Carrie Lam’s government immediately banished four legislators, prompting the remaining 15 in the 70-seat Legislative Council to resign en masse.
“This move makes it clear that dictatorship has descended onto Hong Kong and that Chinese Communist Party can eradicate all opposing voices in the legislature,” Fernando Cheung, one of the lawmakers, told Bloomberg News. “There’s no more separation of powers, no more ‘one country, two systems,’ and therefore no more Hong Kong as we know it.”
The resolution is the latest sign of China’s determination to rein in dissent in the wake of anti-government protests last year calling for meaningful elections in the semi-autonomous territory. Beijing has since passed a series of measures asserting greater control over Hong Kong, first targeting democracy activists who hit the streets and now going after dissenters in democratic institutions set up under British colonial rule.
Lawmakers began tendering their resignations on Thursday, according to Radio Television Hong Kong. Claudia Mo, a prominent pro-democratic voice during last summer’s protests, showed up to resign wearing a black t-shirt — a garment favored by demonstrators — and carrying a yellow umbrella, which became the symbol of Occupy protests in 2014.
China has already shown disdain for the Legislative Council, bypassing it in June to impose sweeping national security legislation that undercut the “one country, two systems” framework that had long attracted investors to the financial hub. The Group of Seven nations accused China of violating the terms of its handover agreement with the UK, while the Trump administration revoked many special privileges granted to the city and sanctioned more than a dozen senior officials who oversee the territory.
Beijing’s latest move was not met by any street protests, which have mostly dissipated amid pandemic-era social distancing restrictions and the enactment of the national security law.
Biden’s win presents an opportunity to reset relations between the world’s two biggest economies, even though the former vice president called Xi a “thug” on the campaign trail and has vowed to “fully enforce” laws punishing Beijing for eroding Hong Kong’s autonomy. Yet China’s move on Wednesday doesn’t leave him many options for a detente, particularly given how the city has long sat at the crossroads of Western democracy and Communist rule.
Western governments including the UK and Australia condemned China’s move while US National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien warned of new sanctions in a statement Wednesday evening. China’s powerful Liaison Office in Hong Kong, however, released a statement saying the opposition’s resignation wouldn’t change the government’s mind.
China on Thursday called foreign governments’ criticism “wanton accusations” and said it was normal for public servants to pledge allegiance in other countries.
