The2021 Hong Kong electoral changes were initiated by theNational People's Congress (NPC) on 11 March 2021 to "amend electoral rules and improve the electoral system" of theHong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) for itsChief Executive (CE) and theLegislative Council (LegCo), in order to ensure a system in which only "patriots", according to the Chinese definition, govern Hong Kong. The reforms have been widely criticized for their negative impact on the democratic representation in the Hong Kong legislature.[1]
With theNational People's Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC) amending the Annex I andAnnex II of theBasic Law of Hong Kong, the compositions of theElection Committee (EC), which is responsible for electing theChief Executive, and the Legislative Council were drastically revamped.[2] The size of the Election Committee would be increased from 1,200 to 1,500 seats with a sizeable number of new seats which would be nominated and elected by the government-appointed and Beijing-controlled organisations. The Legislative Council would be increased from 70 to 90 seats where the currently 35 seats which weredirectly elected would be shrunk to 20 seats, while an extra40 seats would be elected by the Election Committee.[3] A new vetting mechanism would also be created to vet every candidate running for the Chief Executive, the Legislative Council and the Election Committee based on the approval of the Hong KongCommittee for Safeguarding National Security according to the review by the National Security Department of theHong Kong Police Force (HKPF) whose decision would be final and could not be appealed.[4]
The electoral changes, which came after the passing of theHong Kong national security law in June 2020 and the subsequent mass crackdown includingarrests of opposition activists, were widely seen as a move to further curb the influence of thepro-democracy camp in the wake of thewidespread anti-government protests of 2019 and the electoral landslide of the2019 District Council election.[5]
Since thetransfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong in 1997, thedemocratic movement had been calling for genuine universal suffrage for theChief Executive, theLegislative Council (LegCo) as enshrined in theArticle 45 and the Article 68 of theBasic Law of Hong Kong. TheNational People's Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC) had repeatedly ruled out universal suffrage, first in 2004 and again in 2007. However, in the 2007 decision, NPCSC stated that the universal suffrage might be implemented in the2017 Chief Executive election.[6][7] As the 2012 electoral system being unchanged, the moderate democrats struck a deal with the Beijing authorities in the2012 constitutional reform package in 2010 which allowed the enlargement of theElection Committee (EC) and the creation of the five newDistrict Council (Second) seats to be nominated by theDistrict Councillors and elected by popular vote.[8]
The breakthrough between the pro-democrats and the Beijing authorities did not stall the demand for the universal suffrage, instead created internal strife and fragmentations between different factions in the pro-democracy camp and the rise oflocalist movement which called for more confrontational approach for the movement. Thedecision on the constitutional reform framework laid by the NPCSC on 31 August 2014 dashed the hopes of the democracy activists striving for the right to direct elections, which triggered the79-day Occupy protests. The democratic development in Hong Kong had stagnated since then, while a new wave ofindependence movement was on the rise. In the2016 New Territories East by-election, pro-independence activistEdward Leung received more than 15 per cent of the popular vote despite his loss to the pro-democraticCivic Party'sAlvin Yeung. Leung and other pro-independence activists were thenbarred from running in theSeptember general election.Baggio Leung andYau Wai-ching ofYoungspiration, who was backed by Edward Leung, were elected, but were soon disqualified overtheir oath-taking manner.[9]
With pro-democrats infighting,Occupy activists imprisoned and pro-independence movement being suppressed, the democratic movement seemed to run out of steam. However, in the summer of 2019, the push of Chief ExecutiveCarrie Lam for theamendment to the extradition law triggered a series ofunprecedented widespread protests. The protesters soon demanded genuine universal suffrage as one of theirfive key goals.[5] In November 2019, thepro-democrats received a historic electoral landslide victory in theDistrict Council election, inflicting a heavy defeat on thepro-Beijing parties by taking over more than 80 per cent of the seats and seizing control of 17 of the 18 District Councils. In January 2020,Wang Zhimin was removed from his post as Director of theLiaison Office of the Central People's Government in Hong Kong which was widely seen as a response to his failure to advise the central government accurately about the vulnerability of pro-Beijing candidates at the election.[10]
In June 2020, the NPCSC enacted theHong Kong national security law to criminalise "separatism, subversion, terrorism and foreign interference" which many interpreted as a crackdown on civil liberties, government critics, and the independence movement.[11] In July, the pro-democrats organised aterritory-wide primary election to maximise their chance to obtain a majority in theupcoming Legislative Council election, despite the government warning of their potentially breaching the national security law as some of the candidates vowed to vote down the government budget in order to pressure the administration to respond to the demands of the protesters.[12] Chief Executive Carrie Lam abruptly invoked theEmergency Regulations Ordinance to postpone the election, citing therecent resurgence of the COVID-19 cases. However the decision was widely seen as the latest in a rapid series of aggressive moves by the Beijing authorities to thwart opposition momentum and neutralise the pro-democracy movement.[13] The 55 organisers and candidates in the primarywere later arrested under the national security law on 6 January 2021, making it the largest crackdown under the national security law since its passage.[14]
After the passage of the national security law, the Beijing authorities began to stress the importance of "patriots governing Hong Kong." On 11 November 2020, the NPCSC adopted a decision which bars Legislative Council members from supporting Hong Kong independence, refusing to recognise Beijing's sovereignty over Hong Kong, seeking help from "foreign countries or foreign forces to interfere in the affairs of the region" or committing "other acts that endanger national security", unseating the four sitting legislators, Alvin Yeung,Kwok Ka-ki,Dennis Kwok andKenneth Leung whose candidacies had beeninvalidated by the returning officers earlier in July.[15]Zhang Xiaoming, deputy director of theHong Kong and Macao Affairs Office (HKMAO) stated that "patriots governing Hong Kong" had become a new "legal norm". He urged the "comprehensive and accurate understanding and implementation" of the principle of "One Country, Two Systems". He stressed that one should see that "One Country" of thesocialist system with Chinese characteristics under the leadership of theChinese Communist Party (CCP) being the premise and foundation for "Two Systems" which support and guarantee Hong Kong's capitalist system; safeguarding national sovereignty, security and development interests being the primary purpose of "One Country, Two Systems"; the central government's overall jurisdiction being the source of a high degree of autonomy; Hong Kong's legal system being incorporated into the constitutional order on the basis of theNational Constitution and the Basic Law; Hong Kong's development being inseparable from and benefited from the mainland; and "patriotism" should be added before the core values of democracy, freedom and human rights.[16]
On 27 January 2021,CCP general secretaryXi Jinping said that Hong Kong could only maintain its long-term stability and security by ensuring "patriots governing Hong Kong" when he heard a work report delivered by Carrie Lam.[17] On 1 March, HKMAO directorXia Baolong in the seminar of "patriots governing Hong Kong" stated that Hong Kong must establish a "democratic electoral system with Hong Kong characteristics."[18]
| Decision on Improving HKSAR's Electoral System | |
|---|---|
| National People's Congress | |
| |
| Passed by | National People's Congress |
| Passed | 11 March 2021 |
| Introduced by | Standing Committee of the National People's Congress |
| Status: In force | |
On 5 March 2021, National People's Congress (NPC) vice chairmanWang Chen unveiled a draft resolution to "adjust and improve" Hong Kong's electoral system in the coming NPC session.[19][20] Chinese state mediaXinhua stated an editorial that "for years, anti-China forces seeking to disrupt Hong Kong have been colluding with external forces in an attempt to seize the jurisdiction over Hong Kong, with clear goals and concrete actions," it reported. "Effective measures must be taken to block these pawns of anti-China forces from being elected to HKSAR’s governance architecture, and knock them out once and for all."[21] In his annual work report to the National People's Congress,PremierLi Keqiang stated that "we will resolutely guard against and deter external forces' interference in the affairs of Hong Kong and Macau."[22]
Local media reported that the composition of theLegislative Council (LegCo) would be increased from 70 seats to 90 seats, with the reintroduction of theElection Committee constituency elected by theElection Committee (EC), the 1,200-member electoral college responsible for nominating and electing theChief Executive (CE). The Election Committee would effectively dilute the number of directly elected Legislative Council members. The size of the Election Committee would also be increased to 1,500 members, filled with members of the Beijing-appointedChinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and other pro-Beijing groups, replacing the seats elected by the democrat-controlledDistrict Councillors.[23] The Election Committee would also be given new powers to vet Legislative Council and District Council candidates.[24] Wang said the new rules would fix the "loopholes" in Hong Kong's electoral system, which had allowed opposition activists who advocated for theHong Kong independence to be elected.[20] Due to the new composition of the Legislative Council would be basis on the Election Committee elected in late 2021, thepostponed 2020 Legislative Council election might be delayed for another full year, according to the local media reports.[25]
The National People's Congress on 11 March voted 2,895 in favour, zero against and one abstention, for the changes to Hong Kong electoral system.[26][27] In addition to the tightening of the control of the Election Committee, a Chief Executive candidate would have to secure 188 nominations, at least 15 nominations from each of the five sectors in order to enter the race. The decision would also create a "qualification vetting system" for Hong Kong's electoral process to screen out candidates.[1][26]
The decision has nine articles:[28]
On 30 March 2021, local media citedNational People’s Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC) Hong Kong delegateTam Yiu-chung saying that all 167 members present had voted in favour of the amendments to Annex I and II of the Basic Law to revamp Hong Kong's electoral system.[29] After the passage,PresidentXi Jinping signed Presidential Orders No. 75 and 76 to amend the Annex I and II of the Hong Kong Basic Law respectively on the same day.[4][30]
Under the new annexes, a Candidate Eligibility Review Committee would be set up to vet the qualifications of candidates, based on the approval of the Hong KongCommittee for Safeguarding National Security according to the review by the National Security Department of theHong Kong Police Force (HKPF) of which its decision would be final and could not be appealed.[4][31][32]
| Allocation of seats and electoral methods of the Election Committee Subsectors[33] | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sector | Subsector | Seats | Methods | Composition | Seat change | ||
| Ind. | Corp. | ||||||
| First Sector | |||||||
| I | Industrial (First) | 17 | Elect |  Y |  1 | ||
| I | Industrial (Second) | 17 | Elect | Y | 1 | ||
| I | Textiles and Garment | 17 | Elect | Y | 1 | ||
| I | Commercial (First) | 17 | Elect | Y | 1 | ||
| I | Commercial (Second) | 17 | Elect | Y | 1 | ||
| I | Commercial (Third)[a] | 17 | Elect | Y |  1 | ||
| I | Finance | 17 | Elect | Y | 1 | ||
| I | Financial Services | 17 | Elect | Y | 1 | ||
| I | Insurance | 17 | Elect | Y | 1 | ||
| I | Real Estate and Construction | 17 | Elect | Y | 1 | ||
| I | Transport | 17 | Elect | Y | 1 | ||
| I | Import and Export | 17 | Elect | Y | 1 | ||
| I | Tourism | 17 | Elect | Y | 1 | ||
| I | Hotel | 16 | Elect | Y | 1 | ||
| I | Catering | 16 | Elect | Y | 1 | ||
| I | Wholesale and Retail | 17 | Elect | Y | 1 | ||
| I | Employers' Federation of Hong Kong | 15 | Elect | Y | 1 | ||
| I | Small and Medium Enterprises | 17 | Elect | Y | New | ||
| Second Sector | |||||||
| II | Technology and Innovation[b] | 30 | Nominate[c] | 15 | Y | New | |
| Elect | 15 | Y[d] | 15 | ||||
| II | Engineering | 30 | Ex-officio[e] | 15 | Y | New | |
| Elect | 15 | Y[d] | 15 | ||||
| II | Architectural, Surveying, Planning and Landscape | 30 | Ex-officio[e] | 15 | Y | New | |
| Elect | 15 | Y[d] | 15 | ||||
| II | Accountancy | 30 | Nominate[f] | 15 | Y | New | |
| Elect | 15 | Y[d] | 15 | ||||
| II | Legal | 30 | Ex-offcio[g] | 6 | Y | New | |
| Nominate[h] | 9 | Y | New | ||||
| Elect | 15 | Y[d] | 15 | ||||
| II | Education[i] | 30 | Ex-officio[j] | 16 | Y | New | |
| Elect | 14 | Y[d] | 46 | ||||
| II | Sports, Performing Arts, Culture and Publication[k] | 30 | Nominate[l] | 15 | Y | New | |
| Elect | 15 | Y[d] | 45 | ||||
| II | Medical and Health Services[m] | 30 | Ex-officio[e] | 15 | Y | New | |
| Elect | 15 | Y[d] | 45 | ||||
| II | Chinese Medicine | 30 | Nominate[n] | 15 | Y | New | |
| Elect | 15 | Y[d] | 15 | ||||
| II | Social Welfare[k] | 30 | Ex-officio[e] | 15 | Y | New | |
| Elect | 15 | Y[d] | 45 | ||||
| Third Sector | |||||||
| III | Agriculture and Fisheries | 60 | Elect | Y |  0 | ||
| III | Labour | 60 | Elect | Y | 0 | ||
| III | Grassroots associations | 60 | Elect | Y | New | ||
| III | Associations of Chinese Fellow Townsmen | 60 | Elect | Y | New | ||
| III | Religious | 60 | Nominate | Y | 0 | ||
| Fourth Sector | |||||||
| IV | Members of the Legislative Council | 90 | Ex-officio | Y | 20[o] | ||
| IV | Heung Yee Kuk | 27 | Elect | Y | 1 | ||
| IV | Representatives of Members of Area Committees, District Fight Crime Committees, and District Fire Safety Committees of Hong Kong Island and Kowloon[p] | 76 | Elect | Y | New | ||
| IV | Representatives of Members of Area Committees, District Fight Crime Committees, and District Fire Safety Committees of the New Territories[q] | 80 | Elect | Y | New | ||
| IV | Representatives of Associations of Hong Kong Residents in the Mainland | 27 | Nominate[r] | Y | New | ||
| Fifth Sector | |||||||
| V | HKSAR Deputies to the NPC and HKSAR Members of the CPPCC National Committee[s] | 190 | Ex-officio | Y | 103 | ||
| V | Representatives of Hong Kong Members of Relevant National Organisations | 110 | Elect | Y | New | ||
|
|
For theChief Executive election, the size of theElection Committee would be increased from 1,200 to 1,500 seats. All of the 117-seat Hong Kong and Kowloon and New Territories District Councils subsectors on the committee which would have been held by the pro-democrats in the2019 electoral landslide would be eliminated and replaced by "representatives of members of area committees", including members of the government-appointed District Fight Crime Committees and the District Fire Safety Committee of Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and the New Territories who are appointed by the Director of Home Affairs under theHome Affairs Department, as well as representatives of thepro-Beijing associations of Hong Kong residents in the mainland. A new 300-seat Fifth Sector would consist of the 190 seats including the Hong Kong deputies to theNational People’s Congress (NPC) and the Hong Kong members of the National Committee of theChinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), as well as 110 seats comprising representatives of "Hong Kong members of relevant national organisations".[34][35]
On the other hand, the seats of the traditional strongholds of the pro-democrats in the Second Sector of professions, including Education and Social Welfare subsectors, would be halved. The original Education and Higher Education subsectors which had 30 seats each would be merged into a 30-seat subsector, while Medical and Health Services subsectors which had 30 seats each would also be merged into a 30-seat subsector. Some of the seats in the other pro-democratic strongholds would also be nominated rather than elected. For instances, half of 30 members of the newly created Technology and Innovation subsector would be nominated from among Hong Kong academicians of theChinese Academy of Sciences and theChinese Academy of Engineering; while 15 of the 30-seat Accountancy subsector would be nominated from among Hong Kong accounting advisers appointed by theChinese Ministry of Finance; nine seats in the Legal subsector would be nominated from the council of theChina Law Society. Up to half of the seats from the subsectors of Engineering, Architectural, Surveying, Planning and Landscape, Education, Medical and Health Services, and Social Welfare would be elected by associations instead of individuals.[35]
A post of chief convener would be created for the Election Committee who shall be an Election Committee member who holds an office of state leadership. A candidate for the office of Chief Executive shall be nominatedby not less than 188 members of the Election Committee, with not less than 15 members from each of the five sectors, meaning that anyone who would want to run for Chief Executive would have to get passed the Beijing-appointed Fifth Sector.[36]
|
|
For theLegislative Council, the total number of seats would be increased to 90 from 70, but the number of directly elected seats would be scrapped to 20 from 35, whereas the enlarged Election Committee would elect 40 seats in the Legislative Council.[4][31] The territory-wide directly electedDistrict Council (Second) "super seats" which were introduced by the government in its2010 electoral reform package would be scrapped.[34] For thefunctional constituencies, theDistrict Council (First) who might have been held by the pro-democrats due to the2019 District Council landslide would be eliminated, while another pro-democracy stronghold,Health Services, would be merged withMedical, andInformation Technology was scrapped. Three new constituencies would be created, namelyCommercial (Third),Technology and Innovation (replacingInformation Technology with a much smaller electorate), and theHKSAR deputies to the National People’s Congress (NPC), HKSAR members of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), and representatives of relevant national organisations.[32]
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For the directly electedgeographical constituencies, the total number of 35 seats in the original five geographical constituencies elected byproportional representation system would be replaced by 10 geographical constituencies where two members would be returned by each geographical constituency. In each geographical constituency, a voter may only vote for one candidate as asingle non-transferable vote (SNTV). Thetwo candidates who obtain the highest numbers of votes in each district shall be elected.[32] The new electoral system was seen to further curb the advantages of the pro-democracy camp, as the opposition usually received 55 to 60 per cent of the popular vote and won more than half of the directly elected seats. Under the new system, the pro-Beijing minority would almost be sure to win at least half of the 20 directly elected seats. The SNTV system will also require voters to coordinate among themselves which candidate they should elect among the same bloc, leading to coordination problems which is a disadvantage among the pro-democrats.[37]
The dual voting system was maintained, of which the passage of motions, bills or amendments to government bills introduced by individual members of the Legislative Council would have to require majority of votes from both of the two groups of members present, changed from the indirectly elected functional constituencies and by directly elected geographical constituencies respectively, to the members returned by the Election Committee, and those returned by functional constituencies and by geographical constituencies through direct elections. A candidate for a geographical or functional constituency would have to be nominated by two but no more than four members from each sector of the Election Committee.[32]
| Improving Electoral System (Consolidated Amendments) Ordinance 2021 | |
|---|---|
| Legislative Council of Hong Kong | |
| |
| Citation | Ordinance 14 of 2021 |
| Territorial extent |  Hong Kong |
| Enacted by | Legislative Council of Hong Kong |
| Signed | 29 May 2021 |
| Commenced | 31 May 2021 |
| Legislative history | |
| Bill title | Improving Electoral System (Consolidated Amendments) Bill 2021 |
| Introduced by | Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland AffairsErick Tsang |
| Introduced | 14 April 2021 (2021-04-14) |
| First reading | 14 April 2021 (2021-04-14) |
| Second reading | 27 May 2021 (2021-05-27) |
| Third reading | 27 May 2021 (2021-05-27) |
| Amends | |
| Emergency (Date of General Election) (Seventh Term of the Legislative Council) Regulation Electoral Affairs Commission Ordinance Legislative Council Ordinance District Councils Ordinance Elections (Corrupt and Illegal Conduct) Ordinance Chief Executive Election Ordinance High Court Ordinance Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal Ordinance Electronic Transactions (Exclusion) Order Travel Industry Ordinance | |
| Status: Amended | |
After the passage of the NPCSC amendment to the Annex I and theAnnex II of theBasic Law of Hong Kong, the SAR government began to roll out the local electoral legislation.Chief ExecutiveCarrie Lam announced the new timetable for the next three elections, by further postponing theLegislative Council election from the originally scheduled September to December, swapping with the plannedElection Committee subsector elections, as the reintroduction of the Election Committee seats to the Legislative Council meant that the new Election Committee had to be elected prior to the Legislative Council election. Meanwhile, thenext Chief Executive election would be held in March 2022 as originally scheduled.[39]
| Election | Original schedule | New schedule |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 Election Committee subsector elections | December 2021 | 19 September 2021 |
| 2021 Legislative Council election | 5 September 2021[t] | 19 December 2021 |
| 2022 Chief Executive election | 27 March 2022 | |
On 13 April after theExecutive Council passed the Improving Electoral System (Consolidated Amendments) Bill 2021, the government unveiled the 765-page bill with more details of the future electoral system.[41] A raft of changes to the Elections (Corrupt and Illegal Conduct) Ordinance would also include legislation to "regulate acts that manipulate or undermine elections", which would criminalise inciting people not to vote or cast blank or spoiled ballots. Violators could face up to three years in prison.[42]
The bill also unveiled the composition of theElection Committee (EC) subsectors, where the individual voting in the pro-democracy leaning professions sector would be largely scrapped as stated in the NPCSC framework. The original 239,193 individual voters registered in the2016 Election Committee Subsector elections would be reduced to about 3,200 individuals in the overhauled system, according to the analysis byHong Kong Free Press.[43]
Chief Executive Carrie Lam also announced that the newly establishedCandidate Eligibility Review Committee (CERC) to vet the candidates would be formed by a handful of principal officials as the chairperson and members of the committee, without giving much details. There were also concerns on the potential conflict of interest of a sitting Chief Executive who would also be the head of theCommittee for Safeguarding National Security could end up advising the CERC on the eligibility of a rival candidate.[44] Political scientistMa Ngok criticised the screening of the executive branch on the candidates for the legislative branch would mean the government would have "total control on who will be allowed to serve in the legislature. This violates major principles of accountability. It won't be considered as any kind of free election anymore."[45]
The pro-Beijing-dominated Legislative Council voted on the 369 amendments tabled by the government, before passing the bill with 40-to-2 vote on 27 May 2021. The only two opposition legislators,Civic Passion'sCheng Chung-tai said that the overhaul would be a real touchstone of the principle of "Hong Kong people governing Hong Kong", whilePierre Chan for theMedical constituency said that the new electoral system was a "regression in democracy."[46]U.S. Secretary of StateAntony Blinken accused the revamp of the electoral system "severely constrains people in Hong Kong from meaningfully participating in their own governance and having their voices heard" and by "decreasing Hong Kong residents' electoral representation will not foster long-term political and social stability for Hong Kong." He vowed that the United States would continue to united speaking out for the human rights and fundamental freedoms guaranteed to the people in Hong Kong with its allies.[47]
Chief ExecutiveCarrie Lam supported the NPC decision, stressing the "pressing need" to plug legal loopholes to improve Hong Kong's electoral system ahead of two key elections ofLegislative Council and Chief Executive.Legislative Council PresidentAndrew Leung also backed the decision, claiming it would restore normalcy to Hong Kong by establishing a "peaceful and rational LegCo" and minimising unnecessary disputes.[25]
Most prominentpro-Beijing figures welcomed the reform. Former Chief Executive and vice chairman of the National Committee of theChinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC)Leung Chun-ying it was necessary to have electoral reform so that the electoral system would be based on the principle of "patriots ruling Hong Kong." FormerWorld Health Organization (WHO)director-general and CPPCC delegateMargaret Chan said she stands by the principle of "patriots ruling Hong Kong" as it was the basis for the "One Country, Two Systems" principle and should not be questioned.[48]
Pro-Beijing politician and former Legislative Council PresidentJasper Tsang suggested the reform could be done by amending local election laws without amending the Annex I andAnnex II of theBasic Law. He said if the reform bypassed the "five-step" procedure set by the NPCSC decision in 2004 which required the Chief Executive to submit a reform proposal to the NPCSC and passed by the two-thirds majority of the Legislative Council, the authority of the Basic Law would be undermined.[48] Non-official convenor of theExecutive CouncilBernard Chan said the move was a "setback" for Hong Kong's progress on democratic development since 1997.[1]
Major pro-Beijing parties and organisations including theDemocratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB), theHong Kong Federation of Trade Unions (FTU), theLiberal Party, theNew People's Party (NPP), theChinese General Chamber of Commerce (CGCC) and theHong Kong Federation of Education Workers (HKFEW) and led byNational People's Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC) Hong Kong delegateTam Yiu-chung andHong Kong Basic Law Committee deputy directorMaria Tam set up a cross-party alliance to launch an online petition in support of the reform.[49][50]
Democratic Party chairmanLo Kin-hei said the electoral changes were "the biggest regression of the system since the handover" and "the authorities will do whatever they want, whenever they want, in a way that was unimaginable before."[51] He criticised the changes to the electoral system that had been in use for the past two decades would narrow the room for the pro-democrats and discourage them from joining future elections. He believed that the vetting mechanism would be a form of political censorship that would ask candidates to start to compete over who would be more loyal to Beijing, instead of thinking of ideas that could make Hong Kong better.[50]
UK Foreign SecretaryDominic Raab said the dilution of elections in Hong Kong was the "latest step by Beijing to hollow out the space for democratic debate in Hong Kong, contrary to the promises made by China itself. He added that "this can only further undermine confidence and trust in China living up to its international responsibilities and legal obligations."[52][53][54] In a statement on 13 March, Raab said that "Beijing's decision to impose radical changes to restrict participation in Hong Kong's electoral system constitutes a further clear breach of the legally bindingSino-British Joint Declaration."[55][56][57]
US State Department spokesmanNed Price criticized the move as "a direct attack on Hong Kong's autonomy, Hong Kong's freedoms and the democratic processes."[58]US Secretary of StateAntony Blinken said the US would continue to "take action against egregious violations of democracy and human rights in Hong Kong."[52] On 17 March, the US sanctioned an additional 24 Chinese and Hong Kong officials over the deep concern with the 11 March NPC decision to unilaterally undermine Hong Kong’s electoral system, including NPC vice chairWang Chen and Hong Kong delegate to the NPCSC Tam Yiu-chung.[59][60]
TheEuropean Union voiced protest against the reform. "If enacted, such reform would have potentially far-reaching negative consequences for democratic principles and democratically elected-representatives in Hong Kong. It would also run counter to previous electoral reforms in Hong Kong and renege on the commitments," the EU Office to Hong Kong and Macau said in a statement.[61] TheEuropean Commission and theHigh Representative noted in an annual report on 12 March that there has been an "alarming political deterioration in Hong Kong." E.U. High RepresentativeJosep Borrell added that "China is consciously dismantling the 'One Country, Two Systems' principle in violation of its international commitments and the Hong Kong Basic Law."[62]
Japanese Foreign Ministry said in a 12 March statement that Beijing's decision "will further undermine the confidence in the 'one country, two systems' framework, as provided for in the Hong Kong Basic Law and the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration" and Japan "cannot overlook" the major setback to the city's autonomy.[63]
Foreign ministers in theG7 group of nations expressed "grave concerns" at Beijing's move to "fundamentally erode democratic elements of the electoral system in Hong Kong." The statement also called on "China and the Hong Kong authorities to restore confidence in Hong Kong's political institutions and end the unwarranted oppression of those who promote democratic values and the defense of rights and freedoms."[57][62]
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