Hong Kong’s legislature unanimously backs bill to revamp district councils, reducing directly elected seats to just 19 per cent; EU hits out in response
- Proportion of directly elected representatives to be reduced from nearly 95 per cent to 19 per cent; EU says decision raises ‘serious questions’ about democracy in city
- Candidates will also be required to pass national security vetting and secure nominations from Beijing loyalist district-level committees
Hong Kong’s legislature has unanimously backed a bill that will slash the number of directly elected seats on district councils, completing an overhaul of the city’s electoral system in line with Beijing’s “patriots-only” governance principle.
But the European Union hit out at the legislation and said it went against a commitment to democratic representation set out in the city’s mini-constitution, the Basic Law.
Beijing, however, argued the overhaul would get the municipal bodies back on the “right track” after they were used by “anti-China factions” as a way to disrupt the running of the city.
“[They] made use of the loopholes in the system to enter district councils during the 2019 social unrest which severely disrupted the government’s work, challenged the bottom line of the ‘one country, two systems’ principle as well as threatened national security and Hong Kong’s stability,” a spokesman for the State Council’s Hong Kong and Macau Office said.
“[The overhaul] will ensure the city’s constitutional order.”
The District Councils (Amendment) Bill 2023, introduced by the government in May, will come into force on July 10 and paves the way for elections by the end of this year.
Under the legislation, which the authorities said was designed to “depoliticise” the municipalities, district councils will be made up of 470 members in total, with the proportion of directly-elected representatives cut from almost 95 per cent to just 19 per cent.
The remainder of the seats will either be appointed by city leader John Lee Ka-chiu or picked by 2,490 members of three district committees stacked with Beijing loyalists.
The government’s district officers will serve as chairmen and women of the city’s 18 councils, in a move authorities said would ensure “administrative-led” municipal-level bodies. The reintroduced practice was scrapped in 1985.
Candidates are also required to go through a tough national security vetting system and secure nominations from Beijing loyalist district-level committees – which will create obstacles to entering the race for the opposition bloc.
Hong Kong’s district councils to be chaired by government officials
Democratic Party chairman Lo Kin-hei on Thursday said some of its members – including former and sitting district councillors as well as newcomers – had shown an interest in standing in the elections.
He added the party would decide whether to throw its weight behind those keen to stand after consideration of their desire to promote party ideology and “speak for Hongkongers”.
Lo explained it was difficult to assess potential candidates’ chances of securing nominations at present, but he emphasised they should not accept “humiliating conditions” in return for tickets to enter the race.
The chief executive said approval of the bill was an important milestone in the city’s work to improve district councils.
But the EU insisted the overhaul would severely weaken the ability of the Hong Kong public to choose representatives to look after the interests of the districts.
“These developments raise serious questions about the state of fundamental freedoms, democracy and political pluralism in Hong Kong that were supposed to remain protected until at least 2047 under the Sino-British Joint Declaration of 1984 and China’s international commitments,” the EU said.
The bloc added mainland Chinese and city authorities should take action to restore confidence in the city’s democratic processes.
Hong Kong district councils to be patriots only, with ‘one-third of seats elected’
The Electoral Affairs Commission said it would start the preparatory work and practical arrangements for the election in the wake of the bill passing.
Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs Alice Mak Mei-kuen said the government was now working on drafting administrative directives, which included a list of “negative” behaviour that would be used to evaluate the performance of district councillors.
She added the government aimed to announce the directives by the end of this year or by the start of 2024.
Officials and Beijing loyalist lawmakers have argued the overhaul was needed to prevent district councils from being used in “political struggles”.
They added the new rules would avoid a repeat of the “chaos” created by the opposition bloc, which scored a landslide victory in the council elections at the height of the 2019 anti-government protests, which were sparked by a now-withdrawn extradition bill.
But political analysts have warned that changes could lead to an echo chamber and make it difficult for members of the public to get help with neighbourhood problems.
Hong Kong elections for chief executive and for the Legislative Council were changed earlier, in line with Beijing’s “patriots-only” rule, which effectively quashed opposition chances at the polls.
