Pro-Beijing ‘patriots’ sweep Hong Kong election with document low turnout

Pro-Beijing candidates swept to victory in an overhauled “patriots”-only legislative election in Hong Kong that critics deemed undemocratic, with turnout hitting a document low amid a crackdown on the town’s freedoms by China.
The turnout of 30.2%, about half that of the earlier ballot in 2016, was seen by pro-democracy activists as a rebuke to China after it imposed a broad nationwide safety legislation and sweeping electoral adjustments to deliver the town extra firmly below its authoritarian grip.

Almost all the seats had been taken by pro-Beijing and pro-establishment candidates, a few of whom cheered on stage on the vote-counting centre and chanted “guaranteed win”.

Hong Kong chief Carrie Lam instructed a information convention on Monday the turnout was certainly low however that she was not in a position to give particular causes for it.
“But 1.35 million coming out to vote – it cannot be said that it was not an … election that did not get a lot of support from citizens,” Lam mentioned.
When requested if the low turnout meant that her social gathering lacked a public mandate, Starry Lee, the top of the pro-Beijing Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB) that received half of the instantly elected seats, mentioned the patriots-only guidelines would enhance governance.
“It needs some time for people to get adapted to this system,” she instructed reporters on the vote-counting centre.The election – during which solely candidates vetted by the federal government as “patriots” might run – has been criticised by some overseas governments, rights teams, and mainstream Hong Kong pro-democracy events, which didn’t take part within the polls, as undemocratic.
Most of the dozen or so candidates who referred to as themselves moderates, together with former democratic lawmaker Frederick Fung, failed to achieve a seat, succumbing to pro-Beijing rivals.
“It’s not easy to push people (to vote). I think they are feeling indifferent,” Fung instructed Reuters.
The earlier document low for a legislative election held after the town’s 1997 return from British to Chinese rule was 43.6% in 2000.
China’s Liaison Office in Hong Kong, the Beijing authorities’s consultant within the territory, described the election as “successful practice of democracy with Hong Kong characteristics.”
In a 57-page white paper printed on Monday, the Chinese authorities mentioned it had supplied fixed assist to Hong Kong in growing its “democratic system” and criticised the often-violent 2019 pro-democracy protests.
Lam, who visits Beijing this week for her annual report back to state leaders, mentioned the doc was a well timed rebuttal of criticism of the elections by overseas governments and media.
HK-Style ‘Democracy’
Political analysts say the turnout is a barometer of legitimacy in an election the place pro-democracy candidates are largely absent, and a crackdown below the safety legislation and different laws has jailed scores of democrats who had initially needed to run, and compelled others into exile.
Under the electoral shake-up introduced by China in March, the proportion of instantly elected seats was diminished from round half to lower than 1 / 4 or 20 seats.
Forty seats had been chosen by a committee stacked with Beijing loyalists, whereas the remaining 30 had been stuffed by skilled and enterprise sectors comparable to finance and engineering, often called useful constituencies.
The turnout charge for these skilled teams additionally fell to 32.2% from 74% in 2016. Some sectors whose voters have historically leaned pro-democracy, together with training, social welfare, and legislation, had the bottom charges.
In 2019, the final main citywide election for district councils seats, the turnout was 71% with round 90% of the 452 seats received by democrats.

State information company Xinhua mentioned the outcomes demonstrated “the true will of the people,” whereas pro-Beijing newspaper Ta Kung Pao described the vote as “the most successful” for the reason that 1997 handover.
Democrat Sunny Cheung, who moved to the United States to flee prosecution below the safety legislation, mentioned most of Hong Kong had “consciously boycotted the election to express their discontent to the world.”