A Chinese official on Friday slammed US criticism of planned changes to Hong Kong’s election law, noting that the chaos surrounding the recent US presidential election was over.
Semi-autonomous Hong Kong is an internal Chinese issue in which no foreign country has the right to interfere, said Zhang Xiaoming, deputy director of the State Council’s office in Hong Kong and Macau.
“I do not know how the US, after the storms of the American Capitol on January 6, has such moral capital to show the electoral institutions in Hong Kong,” he said.
A pro-China staff member stands at a stall to support a proposal to draft amendments to the Hong Kong election rules in a downtown Hong Kong on Friday. (AP)
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A statement from US Secretary of State Antony Blinken condemned what he called China’s “continuous attack on democratic institutions in Hong Kong”. This followed the approval of a plan to get Beijing’s control over Hong Kong’s legislature approved by China’s rubber stamp legislature on Thursday.
The changes would give a largely pro-Beijing election committee the responsibility to nominate all members of the Hong Kong legislature and directly elect some legislators to ensure that Hong Kong is run by ‘patriots’ and ‘anti-China’ forces out. to close the key role in management.
The 1,500-member election committee will elect the area’s chief executive and an unspecified “relatively large” number of its 90-seat legislators. The review has raised concerns that the share of directly elected legislators will be reduced.
Pro-government groups, including the political organization Friends of Hong Kong, have set up stalls across the city to collect signatures in evidence of support for the changes. Nearly 200,000 residents have signed up so far, according to the website signforhk2021.com.
“These actions deny Hong Kongers a voice in their own government by restricting political participation, reducing democratic representation and stifling political debate,” Blinken said.
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Zhang likens the changes to Hong Kong’s electoral system as a ‘minimally invasive operation’ that will restore the health of the city’s ‘democratic system’.
“The hallmarks of minimally invasive surgery are small wounds, deep penetration and faster recovery,” he said, adding that Hong Kong residents will be able to live and work more peacefully as a result.
Zhang also said the election was not aimed at excluding Hong Kong’s democracy camp from the government structure, as anti-China forces could not be equated with the opposition.
“The opposition, especially the pan-Democrats, also have patriots, and they could still be eligible for election in the future and elected by law,” he said.
Zhang’s comments come even as 47 pro-democracy activists and former lawmakers were charged in court last week with undermining their involvement in an unofficial primary election that authorities say was part of a conspiracy to oust the Hong Kong government. paralyzed.
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Most of Hong Kong’s prominent pro-democracy advocates are currently in jail or in self-exile. Of the 47, only five received bail.
Protesters in Hong Kong, in July 2020, protest on the anniversary of Hong Kong’s handover of China from Britain. (AP)
On Friday, 21 activists who were denied bail last week appeared in court for a bail review.
The court rejected 11 bail applications, including those of former lawmakers Claudia Mo and Leung Kwok-hung. The remaining ten accused withdrew their application. They will remain in custody.
For former lawmaker Emily Lau, a member of the Hong Kong Democratic Party, Zhang’s words offer little reassurance that any semblance of democracy can still be maintained.
“I consider myself a patriot,” Lau said. “But we are concerned that many people may be excluded from my party and from the camp for democracy.”
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She said that even after legislators are elected, ongoing investigations are still being conducted as they can still be stripped of their seats if they are insufficiently patriotic.
“I do not know what their definition of patriotism is, and that is the worrying thing,” she said. “Once this (electoral system) is in place, you will lose the trust of the people, and that is bad for any government.”