Hong Kong electoral changes: China’s top legislative body approves overhaul locking in dominance of pro-establishment camp, with a few surprises thrown into mix
- While many of the new elements were already known, creation of chief convenor to head body overseeing elections catches many off guard
- City’s leader welcomes revamp as necessary to put Hong Kong back on right track and insists opposition camp can still play role in governing
China’s top legislative body has approved fundamental changes to Hong Kong’s political system, slashing the number of directly elected seats and ensuring more pro-Beijing representation in the city’s legislature, creating a powerful new post to head a more influential Election Committee, and setting up a vetting body comprising principal officials to screen out candidates deemed to be unpatriotic.
While some of the far-reaching changes were expected in the final resolution passed unanimously by the National People’s Congress Standing Committee on Tuesday, there were some surprises such as the revelation that a chief convenor holding an “office of state leadership” would head the body newly empowered to have oversight of key elections in the city.
“I want to assure you that this is a clause for use under very, very exceptional and rare situations, and this convenor system will only kick in during elections,” Lam said.
“During normal periods of governance, this convenor system, or the chief convenor, has absolutely no role in the governance of Hong Kong. It certainly will not have any influence over the chief executive or the principal officials.”
