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HONG KONG (Reuters) – People in Hong Kong went to the polls on Sunday to vote only in the “patriotic” revised legislative council elections, which critics say are undemocratic and the government is keen to mobilize votes to show the legitimacy of the vote.
Some of the first to vote when the polls opened at 8:30 a.m. (0030 GMT) said they were keen to fulfill their civic duty to ensure stability in a city that was rocked by violent protests for several months in 2019.
Tam Po-chu, a 79-year-old language teacher at the university, said he hoped the new board would respond to the public. “They’re worthless if they don’t think about the people of Hong Kong,” he said.
Officials have worked to encourage participation https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/exclusive-hong-kong-officials-push-turnout-first-patriots-election-2021-12-18, a weak show fear can be read as a protest against a vote without the participation of a major opposition party, people who know the effort told Reuters.
Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam was one of the first to vote, and told reporters later that the government had not “set a target” for the turnout rate and was unaware of what the Chinese leader had set.
Security was tight in the city, with 10,000 police deployed. Police chief Raymond Siu told them before the vote that the mass deployment in hundreds of polling stations in the city would ensure that voting would take place safely and properly.
In the run-up to the election, more than 10 people have been arrested for allegedly pushing people to cast a white vote, including re-posting messages from others on social media, according to government statements. It is illegal in Hong Kong to encourage someone not to vote or to cast an invalid vote.
Chinese parliament announces major changes in March https://www.reuters.com/world/china/how-hong-kongs-new-election-law-will-reshape-legislature-2021-12-18 Hong Kong election system, among others on the other, to reduce the number of directly elected seats and to set up an examination committee to examine all potential candidates, saying that only “patriots” can administer the city. More than a third of the seats will now be elected by a committee made up of Beijing loyalists.
Hong Kong’s ongoing crackdown on national security law has also jailed many Democrats in prison https://www.reuters.com/world/china/hong-kongs-jailed-exiled-democrats-lament-sunday-election- 2021-12 -16, while civil society groups disbanded.
Unlike previous polls, pro-democracy candidates are largely absent from submission because they have gone into exile or been jailed. Some foreign activists and foreign governments, including the United States, say the election change has reduced democratic representation in the city.
Chinese and Hong Kong authorities reject these criticisms, saying that last year’s election changes and national security law were necessary to improve the city’s governance and restore stability in 2019 after mass protests against the government.
Of the 153 candidates running for 90 seats in the legislature, about a dozen say they are moderate in Beijing or out of line with the pro-system framework.
Hong Kong and China officials have stepped up their election rallies for fear of opposition to the new election rules and lack of democracy https://www.reuters.com/world/china/hong-kongs -jailed-exiled-democrats-lament-sunday -election-2021-12-16 candidates will oust voters, some analysts say. Transport operators have also offered free travel on election day.
“Obviously, the government’s goal is to get a lot of turnout. Otherwise, it will deprive these elections of legitimacy,” said Jean-Pierre Cabestan, a political science professor at Hong Kong Baptist University.
Director-General Lam’s office and the Beijing City Liaison Office did not respond to requests from Reuters to comment on voter turnout.
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