Beijing increases control over Hong Kong, Christians “cannot see any possibility of political resolution”
The escalation of political repression in Hong Kong continues to grow.
After passing the controversial National Security Law on 1 July 2020, which among other things has limited demonstrations in the city, China‘s National People’s Congress recently approved a series of amendments to Hong Kong’s Basic Law that affect its electoral system.
With 2,895 votes in favour and only one abstention, this decision establishes, among other things, the creation of “a nomination investigation commission” and gives more power to the Election Committee in the election of “deputies to the Legislative Council and the region’s chief executive”.
This means a significant reduction in the number of deputies chosen directly by the citizens, and that the candidates for election will undergo a prior examination to assess their degree of “patriotism”.
Carrie Lam, the city’s chief executive said: “I firmly believe that by improving the electoral system and implementing ‘patriots administering Hong Kong’, the excessive politicization in society and the internal rift that has torn Hong Kong apart can be effectively mitigated, thereby enhancing the governance capability of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region”,
“The situation will get worse”
In the last elections held in November 2019, the control of 17 of the city’s 18 districts was in the hands of both pro-democracy and opposition parties. Hong Kong was due to hold new elections in 2020 but the pandemic situation led to their postponement until September 2021.
Now, the president of the Legislative Council, Andrew Leung, has announced a new change in the elections dates, which now will be in December, so that the current composition of the regional parliament will remain unchanged for the rest of the year.
“Many people feel great fear in this situation, and many of them are depressed and have lost hope for the future”, points out M. C. (initials changed), who belongs to an evangelical youth group and has asked to remain anonymous for security reasons. “We foresee that this will get worse, and we cannot see any possibility of political resolution to improve the situation”.
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