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With Hong Kong’s legislative election days running out, candidates are taking to the streets of a Chinese-controlled city to seek last-minute votes. But residents say there is little desire to vote this time around.
A woman told Al Jazeera that many Hong Kong voters see the December 19 poll as a “selection” and not as an “election.” Because that’s it electoral reforms – Presented by Beijing earlier this year – means only candidates who pass the authorities ” “patriots only” they let the examination process run.
Alone Three of the 153 candidates According to the South China Morning Post, this year’s open elections are identified as pro-democracy, with a drastic change in the semi-autonomous territory affected by protests demanding greater democracy in 2014 and 2019.
“What you see is the people who are giving birth to a very wide range of candidates,” the neighbor said, fearing the consequences of his desire to remain anonymous.
“No one takes a pamphlet. People see the candidates on the sidewalk and cross the road, just as they cross the road when they see a police station or a national security office. ”
Initially set in September last year, Hong Kong Legislative Council elections were postponed by more than a year, with authorities citing concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic. The decision to postpone the vote was a major crackdown on dissent in China’s freest city, with mass arrests and Beijing’s unification. national security law which criminalized subversion, secession, terrorism, and solidarity with foreign forces, up to imprisonment. This law has been used to apprehend politicians, activists and even the media. Most pro-democracy politicians in the city are now in prison or in exile.
As Hong Kong’s political freedoms almost disappeared, Beijing appealed to the city’s parliament, known as the LegCo. Electoral changes have redrawn the constituencies and reduced the number of directly elected citizens from 35 to 20.
Professional-related voting blocs will elect another 30 seats, and 40 seats will be nominated by a committee chaired by Beijing-based Beijing-based leader Carrie Lam Hong Kong.
Boycott calls
Among the repression, the Hong Kong Institute of Public Opinion Research found only this 52% of respondents intention to vote, marking the 30-year low for legislative elections. Many voters are expected to boycott the vote or spoil the vote, even if asking others to do so could lead to arrest.
Six people have been arrested so far for calling for a boycott of others, according to local media, or simply for re-posting Facebook posts about a possible boycott. The government has also ordered the arrest of former MPs Ted Hui and Yau Man-chun, who have called for a boycott of votes in exile in the UK and Australia, respectively.
However, many believe that this is the only option left.
“Right now, the biggest debate in Hong Kong is how to mobilize people in a climate where everything is pre-determined and you don’t have a meaningful opportunity to use your opinions; because there is no candidate who will talk about electoral reform, democracy or the principles of the Basic Law that have been promised to us, ”said the neighbor.
“Right now in Hong Kong there is a debate over whether or not to go to the polls, or to go to the polls and what is more significant, so to speak. You’re giving it a try [so they] it can be said that a certain percentage of the public took part. ‘
Exiled Hong Kong democracy activist Nathan Law also called the vote for Al Jazeera a “selection” process.
“It’s not an election – the candidate is looking deeply at the political police and they should have the support of pro-Beijing politicians,” he said. “Popularly elected seats have been reduced by only 20 per cent. We should not give any legitimacy to these elections by voting. “
New faces
The rigorous process of scrutiny and the abandonment of the city’s pro-democracy camp mean many candidates running in Sunday’s election are running for the first time, and critics say they may be seen as misunderstanding issues affecting their constituencies, such as the city’s metro. the system works and where the stations are.
“There is a noticeable lack of discussion and knowledge among the candidates, some of whom seem to find it difficult to get to know their community. it’s not even on social media, ”a Hong Kong journalist asked to continue. anonymous referring to the changing “red lines” of the authorities.
But city officials say the new faces could have a fresh start to the Hong Kong legislature after the 2019 riots.
“You don’t seem to be saying a lot of old-fashioned faces in the field of democracy, but is it fair to say that they are now one-voice faces,” said Deputy Bernard Chan. An unofficial convener of the Chinese National People’s Congress and the government’s executive council, however.
“I think each district has an opposition person on presentation, but they don’t have the same luggage as the others.”
Hong Kong politician Allan Wong (iz.) Is speaking to a woman in a Hong Kong street campaign ahead of the December 19 city legislative elections. [Peter Parks/ AFP]He added: “(Beijing) made it clear that they welcome the opposition, as long as they uphold the principle of the Chinese constitution and the Hong Kong constitution, which is called the Basic Law. They welcome that. so that’s basically the red line. ‘
With a smaller turnout expected, Lam, the chief executive of Hong Kong, has previously said that this suggests that voters are happy with their government, but elsewhere Hong Kong authorities have become sensitive to the slightest criticism. They were recently warned by the Wall Street Journal and the UK Sunday Times that they could be blamed for the revival of articles critical of the next poll.
Bread and butter issues
Despite the bad press, Lamek and his government may still have something to gain from a vote, said Tai Wei Lim, an assistant researcher at the National University of East Asia in Singapore.
Lame can show that the city of Beijing has returned to normalcy while also courting the people of Hong Kong on anti-democratic issues, he said, such as the destruction of wages and the profound inequality of wealth.
“From the point of view of the Hong Kong authorities and the central government in Beijing, the economic problems of bread and butter can win people’s hearts and minds, including public housing and trade infrastructure,” Lim said in an email.
“Thus, they expect more political support from patriotic candidates (patriotism according to their criteria) to build these elements to work with government service technocrats / bureaucrats.”
The announcement of the upcoming Legislative Council General Election in Hong Kong, near Victoria Harbor, China, is set for December 1, 2021. [Lam Yik/ Reuters]Hong Kong’s semi-democratic legislature has been unopposed since November 2020, when 15 pro-democracy lawmakers resigned after the government removed several colleagues for political views. Their absence has allowed the government to carry out major construction projects, such as the controversial development of an island building called Lantau Tomorrow Vision, to create more housing space.
Many opposition politicians are now in jail awaiting trial in November 2019 after helping to hold unofficial primary elections for pro-democracy candidates. The primary election turned out to be a great embarrassment for the Hong Kong government after reaching a record turnout of 600,000 voters. The 7.4 million-strong city was a sign of democracy, even when mass protests did not bring about change.
Opposition lawmakers and election organizers were among 55 people arrested in an unprecedented mass arrest on Jan. 6 this year, and 47 of the group have been charged with conspiracy to commit subversion. Most have remained in custody due to the ongoing delay in the trial, but important arguments are expected to begin early next year, according to the Hong Kong Free Press.
Johnny Patterson, the founder and political director of the UK-based Hong Kong Watch, said the election had been silenced in favor of Beijing.
“It simply came to our notice then. Earlier this year, the National Security Police rallied and arrested the entire pro-democracy camp for national security crimes, outlawing significant opposition. Recently, police threatened voters that boycotting elections could now be a crime, ”he said.
“The whole process shows how much the political situation has deteriorated.”
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