Political situation
Written by: Zhou Lixi
2021-03-29 07:00
Last update date: 2021-03-29 07:00
The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress has been convened in Beijing for two days starting today (29) to review the amendments to Annex I and Annex II of the Basic Law, namely the method for the formation of the Chief Executive and the Legislative Council. It will have the opportunity to vote on Tuesday.
The decision to "improve Hong Kong's electoral system" was passed during the two sessions, including the increase of the Legislative Council to 90 seats, the addition of the fifth sector of the Election Committee, and the establishment of the Candidate Qualification Review Committee. However, there are no specific details. This meeting of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress A specific plan will be finalized.
At present, various proposals and suggestions have been put forward in the market. Among them, in terms of the proportion of seats in the Legislative Council, the "432", "333", and "522" proposals have their own support, but the "432" proposal has the highest voice; the threshold and qualifications for nomination to the Legislative Council The composition of the review committee has also become the focus of all parties. This article will integrate the four major concerns of this election reform.
1. Distribution of the five major sectors of the Election Committee. The Youth Federation and Women’s Federation are expected to be shortlisted for
this election reform. The function of the Election Committee has been fully upgraded. In the past, it was only responsible for nominating and electing the chief executive. In the future, it will be empowered to produce a "larger percentage" of legislative council members. Directly participate in the nomination of all candidates for the legislative council.
The number of the electoral committee has increased from 1,200 to 1,500, and a new sector has been added, each with 300 people.
The “Decision” of the National People’s Congress mentioned that the five sectors are “business and finance”; “professional sector”; “basic level, labor and religious sectors”; “legislative council members, representatives of regional organizations, etc.”; and “Hong Kong Representatives of the National People’s Congress of the Special Administrative Region, members of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region’s National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, and Hong Kong members of relevant national organizations.”
The newly-added fifth sector is regarded as the "national team" and is composed of the People's Congress and the CPPCC trusted by the central government, and joins the Hong Kong member of the national group. It is expected to be incorporated into the All-China Youth Federation, All-China Women, All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce and other organizations.
The District Councils, which belong to the fourth sector and occupy 117 seats, are expected to be greatly reduced and replaced by some regional representatives and organizations.
As for the social welfare sector, which belongs to the third sector and occupies 60 seats, Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor has previously revealed that it will be transferred to the second sector, which means that the pan-democratic vote has been compressed.
Change of Election Committee Sector ▼▼▼
2. The new "Patriot" election committee "432" ran out of the Legislative Council
The number of seats in the Legislative Council will increase to 90 in the future, and the electoral committee sector at the beginning of the reunification will be reset, and it will account for a "larger proportion."
Recently, the political circles have proposed different proposals, including "432" (40 seats in the electoral committee, 30 seats in functional constituencies, and 20 seats in geographical constituencies); moderates strive for the "333" plan (30 seats in each of the three sectors), and even industrial Wu Qiubei, the president of the Federation, proposed the "522" plan (50 seats in the electoral committee).
In fact, Zhang Xiaoming, the deputy director of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office, came to Hong Kong to attend the forum earlier. He said that when Wang Chen, vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, introduced the draft of the "Decision", "the election committee elected a larger proportion of legislation." "Members", the explanation means that the election of committee seats will be more than the direct election of functional groups and districts.
In other words, the "333" plan has been denied in disguise, and the "432" plan is almost a foregone conclusion when the Legal Work Committee calls it "intermediate ink".
▼ Zhang Xiaoming, deputy director of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office, came to Hong Kong for a discussion ▼
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The Legislative Council Sector Changes Forecast▼▼▼
3. Need nominations from five sectors to run for the Legislative Council?
The “Decision” of the National People's Congress mentioned that candidates for chief executive must be jointly nominated by no less than 188 members of the Election Committee, and that in each of the five sectors, no less than 15 members are involved in the nomination.
The outside world is concerned about whether candidates for election to the Legislative Council in the future need to be nominated by the five major sectors.
In the past, candidates for direct elections by districts only needed to obtain 100 nominations from registered voters in the district to register (the functional constituency was to obtain 10 registered voters). If you want to run for the Legislative Council in the future, each of the five sectors must obtain certain nominations. It will greatly increase the difficulty for the democrats to enter the gate.
Tian Beichen, deputy to the Hong Kong People's Congress, suggested earlier that candidates for the Legislative Council only need to obtain three nominations from each of the five major sectors; heavyweights of different organizations also advocate a low threshold.
As for the seats of the Legislative Council Election Committee, a number of details have yet to be finalized, including whether it will be open to non-election committees to compete, and the election will adopt a "block vote" system. I believe that after the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, there will be answers.
Fourth, the qualification review committee exercises DQ power to join the National Security Office?
The "Decision" of the National People's Congress stipulates that a "Candidate Qualification Review Committee" will be established to review and confirm the qualifications of candidates for the Election Committee, candidates for the Chief Executive, and candidates for the Legislative Council.
Tan Yaozong, a member of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, said that he believed that the committee members should have 10 to 20 people, and they must be familiar with the law and the Basic Law, and they must be respected and credible, and cannot stand for election afterwards.
However, another person close to the Central Committee said that it is believed that the qualification examination committee will be composed of 5 to 7 people, and the chairman of the committee will only cast a key vote when the number of votes is equal.
Some politicians advocate that the committee should add the National Security Agency and the Police National Security Office to ensure that candidates comply with the principle of "patriots ruling Hong Kong".
Another key point is that the committee’s decision may not be subject to judicial review, and the local courts have no power to overthrow the organization proposed by the National People’s Congress; as to whether there is an internal appeal mechanism, it remains to be revealed.
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