Add thelocalreport.in As A Trusted Source
The deadliest fire in hong kong Pressure on Beijing’s decades-long “patriots-only” system of rule is mounting, with an impact on the elections, which are widely seen as another step in tightening control over the city’s legislature.
Sunday’s vote to elect new lawmakers to Hong Kong’s 90-member Legislative Council came just 11 days after a massive fire swept through seven towers at a high-rise apartment complex, killing at least 159 people in the financial center’s worst blaze since 1948.
With many voters in the city becoming politically apathetic since China’s crackdown on pro-democracy camps in recent years, Sunday’s turnout will be a key gauge of public sentiment toward the government and its handling of the fires.
Although there have not yet been any significant public protests due to the chilling effect of the sweeping security crackdown that began five years ago, some residents have raised concerns among friends, on social media, and among journalists about government surveillance in building maintenance projects and official investigative efforts.
Nearly 40% of incumbents, including household names and mildly outspoken politicians, are stepping aside for this election. More candidates with mainland Chinese business ties, as well as more members of China’s parliament, are joining the race.
Observers suggest the line-up of candidates also signals Beijing’s tight control over its loyalists and preference for politicians in line with its agenda.
changing of the guard
In late September, several veteran MPs announced one by one that they would not seek re-election. Regina Ip, a key member of Hong Kong’s cabinet, said she wanted to pass the torch to a younger generation and denied that age was a factor.
Many relatively vocal MPs also abstained. One Among them, Doreen Kong stressed that she did not face any pressure to bow out.
The changes drew widespread attention to the legislature, which is now filled with Beijing after the loyalists China Election rules were changed in 2021.
Under the rules, the number of directly elected seats was reduced from 35 to 20. Forty other seats are elected by a mainly pro-Beijing election committee, with voters from professional, business and other designated sectors electing another 30 seats for their industries. All candidates must undergo official vetting, including by national security officials.
Pro-democracy politicians have all but disappeared from the legislature after several people were arrested under a 2020 national security law imposed by Beijing to suppress mass protests that began in 2019.
The pro-Beijing camp praised the efficiency of the new model, but Hong Kong think tank POD Research Institute said in September that its survey showed growing public concerns about the quality of debate in the legislature.
More candidates with mainland Chinese ties
The new candidate pool marks a profound change.
The Associated Press found that at least 26 of 161 candidates, or 16%, held positions in Chinese-funded businesses without declaring party affiliation — nearly double the figure reported by local newspaper South China Morning Post in the 2021 election. Most were associated with state-owned enterprises.
Of all the candidates, 16 are representatives of China’s top legislature – more than double the number from the last election – and 13 others are members of China’s top political advisory body. There were more candidates for directly elected seats than four years earlier, including district councilors who handle municipal affairs. Still, many of those new candidates are not familiar names to voters.
John Burns, professor emeritus of politics and public administration at the University of Hong Kong, said the central government has “too much controlled” the city’s elections since 2021. Burns said it appeared central officials had a new informal norm on the upper age limit and perhaps less appetite for outspoken MPs.
He said members of China’s legislature and political advisory bodies are more aligned with Beijing’s agenda, while those who work for state-owned enterprises are under greater control of central authorities, in addition to better resources for their roles.
“They are trying to ensure that the new people adopt a national perspective, national agenda… and not focus on sectional interests, not focus on vested interests, and perhaps not represent the concerns of the people in Hong Kong,” he said.
He said central officials are also trying to reduce the influence of traditional political parties.
Other new faces joining the race include Olympic fencing champion Vivian Kong, who has faced questions over her eligibility to run in the tourist area. He approved the official investigation process in November, citing his efforts to promote horse racing tourism.
Candidates defend dual roles
hong kong leader john lee It said personnel changes in elections are normal during changes in tenure, and condemned efforts by “opposition forces” to discredit the election with allegations of interference. He said it is right for Beijing to care about the elections.
Current finance lawmaker Ronick Chan, an adviser to Bank of China (Hong Kong) Ltd., whose parent company is a state-owned commercial bank, said working in Chinese-funded enterprises does not conflict with serving as a lawmaker.
“Employees of Chinese-funded enterprises are often linked to national policies in their daily work,” he said in a text message. “This helps Hong Kong better understand the concerns of the central government and facilitates integration into the city’s service and national development.”
His rival Ip Tsz-kin, who works at the Bank of Communications (Hong Kong) – also affiliated with another state-owned bank – told the SCMP that candidates should work for the future development of Hong Kong regardless of their company background. He did not respond to the AP’s request for comment.
During an election candidate forum, candidate Rex Lai said that patriotic organizations can mobilize volunteers to support relief efforts in a disaster.
In November, China’s Hong Kong Affairs Office said the pool of new candidates would promote the development of a “high-quality democracy” suitable for Hong Kong.
It said the legislature needs new blood, and the involvement of professional elites from new sectors, innovation industries and think tanks, among others, signals hope for better coordination with China’s next five-year plan.
Voting may slow down after fire
Voter turnout fell to 30.2% in the 2021 election, a record low. Officials are making all efforts to increase that figure until a temporary ban on fires is imposed.
Burns said that in previous elections before 2021 about 60% of the popular vote had gone to the pro-democracy camp. He believed those voters would stay away from Sunday’s elections.
He said that while some pro-government voters would be grateful for the authorities’ response to the fire, others might have reservations about voting because of the systemic problems exposed by the fire and the heavy death toll.
To increase voter turnout, the government has extended voting hours, added polling stations and offered subsidies to centers for older adults and people with disabilities. City leader Lee urged civil servants to vote and companies gave time to employees who voted. Authorities have made arrests over social media content that allegedly discouraged voting or contained damaging promotional election materials.
“This fire has impacted the entire operation,” Burns said. “That makes it very difficult for officials to do thirty percent better, and so it will probably be lower.”
,
AP video journalist Ayaka McGill contributed to this report.