Summary:

- upcoming leg election in dec

- first election after election reform passed by CCP
- election reform: 35 —> 20 direct election seat VS 35 —> 70 indirect election seat
(eligible candidates which have close relations with authorities)
⇒ only ‘true patriots’ to be in the legco
However, try to pretend it has democracy in the election —> pressuring opposition to join the
election
Carrie lam: it would be strange if a political party do not engage in politics (election), have to
think about its necessity for existence

Only one candidate who was not part of the pro-Beijing bloc won a seat. Officials said the
victory of Tik Chi-yuen, a self-declared independent, proved that diverse voices were
welcome.

But Mr. Tik’s election was, in part, pure luck: After tying with two other candidates, he
prevailed in a random draw.

LIN Hiu Ching

SID: 56207442

Hong Kong Is Holding Elections. It Wants Them to Look Real. (From NY Times)

Summary
This article investigated the current legislative election under the election reform carried out
by Beijing. Under the election reform, directly elected seats decreased from 35 to 20, while
indirectly elected seats increased from 35 to 70. Note that eligible candidates from indirectly
elected seats are the ones who have close relationships with the authority. It reflected that the
government wanted to have 'true patriots' in the legislative council, while they couldn't
tolerate opposition voices inside the council. However, facing accusations of violating the
idea of HK people ruling HK, the government tried to make the current election more
democratic by pressuring the oppositions to join the election. Carrie Lam once said that if a
political party does not engage in an election, it is unnecessary to exist.

Reflections
I think that the electoral reform is authoritarianism in disguise. Although the government
encouraged opposition to engage in the election, they have few chances to be elected. All
candidates have to go through political review by the government panel, and the opposition
who has been criticizing the government will have a high chance for disqualification. For
example, the political review is carried out to district councilors, and most opposition that
participated in protests have been disqualified. I worked in a district councilor's office, and
my district councilor is from Democratic Party. Although she participated in previous
protests, she didn't make any claim on HK independence. Yet, she is still disqualified due to
her participation in protests. The strict political review made me feel pity as many opposition
councilors use all their might to improve citizens' living. However, they are disqualified due
to protesting. The election reform is not only wiping out all the democrats. It is also wiping
out candidates who have their hearts set on serving the community. Undoubtedly, under the
tightening grip of CCP, HK is walking backward in the path of democracy.

References

Wong, V., & Dong, J. (2021). Hong Kong Is Holding Elections. It Wants Them to Look
Real. New York Times. Retrieved October 18, 2021, from
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/24/world/asia/hong-kong-elections.html.