US spotlights Hong Kong elections in its criticism of China’s human rights record
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For the second time in two weeks, the US State Department accused China on Tuesday of having undermined Hong Kong’s autonomy and freedoms, one of a slate of charges against Beijing in the department’s annual global human rights report.
The report found that China’s sweeping revision of the district electoral process in Hong Kong had effectively ensured that “only candidates vetted and approved by Beijing would be allowed to hold office at any level”. It also concluded that Hongkongers had lost the ability “to change their government peacefully through free and fair elections”.
Last year’s elections overhaul added a new pro-establishment sector to the powerful Election Committee and gave the body new authorities to decide who could run for seats on the city’s Legislative Council.
The December elections – the first since the reforms were enacted – were marked by the lowest voter turnout in Hong Kong since 1997 and resulted in pro-Beijing candidates winning 89 of 90 seats.
The report also included a blistering assessment of the impact the national security law that Beijing imposed on Hong Kong in June 2020 has had on the city’s political, media and civil spheres. In the past year alone, the authorities invoked the law in crackdowns on two leading anti-government news outlets, arresting their staff, seizing assets and effectively forcing their closure.
