First "patriot election" in Hong Kong: the population does not go - "extremely embarrassing"

Created: 12/20/2021, 2:57 PM

Newly elected members of the new Legislative Council in Hong Kong: A large part of the citizens boycotted the election according to the controversial new "patriot" suffrage © Imago / VCG

Many Hong Kong residents boycotted the first general election under the controversial new suffrage.

Only "patriots" were allowed to run.

Representatives of the opposition did not stand, are in custody or abroad.

Hong Kong / Munich - With an extremely low turnout, the people in Hong Kong have taken a stand against the restriction of their democracy by China. Only around 30 percent of those eligible to vote cast their vote in the parliamentary elections on Sunday. It is a record low that amounts to a quasi-boycott. Under a controversial electoral system pushed through by Beijing, the Hong Kong authorities had banned all pro-democracy representatives from voting. Only “patriots” who were loyal to Beijing were allowed to compete. Even though Hong Kong Prime Minister Carrie Lam never tires of emphasizing the advantages of the new suffrage. But many voters apparently see it differently.

Under the new electoral system, only 20 of the 90 members of the Legislative Council are directly elected.

40 are chosen by an election committee loyal to Beijing, and another 30 by interest groups that are also close to the Chinese central government.

All 153 candidates were also checked for their "patriotism" and political loyalty to Beijing before the vote.

The largest pro-democracy parties had not even put up their own candidates.

Dozens of prominent members of the opposition - including many who won seats in parliament in the last election - have been detained in recent weeks and months for violating the so-called National Security Act.

Others were excluded from the election or fled abroad.

China: White Paper on Democracy in Hong Kong

Immediately after the election, the Information Office of the State Council in Beijing issued a white paper on Monday in which it confirmed “general elections” for parliament and the head of government as a long-term goal. It is still unclear how the central government understands this. China is currently trying to find its own narrative to define democratic systems. Among other things, it is about not interpreting free elections as a central element of democracy - and presenting one's own system as more efficient than, for example, the US model of democracy. At the beginning of December, the State Council published a white paper entitled “China: Democracy That Works”. In general, the government tries to define democracy more in terms of utility: Democracy is what brings people more prosperity or development.

"There are no uniform criteria for democracy and no uniform model of democracy that is generally accepted," quoted the

from the White Paper on Hong Kong.

“Democracy only works if it corresponds to the actual conditions and solves actual problems.” This fits exactly into the narrative that Beijing also wants to push for the entire People's Republic.

The paper also criticizes the fact that Hong Kong, as a British crown colony, was not democratic at all until the British frantically introduced elections shortly before it was returned to China in 1997.

Hong Kong: Carrie Lam defends new suffrage

Hectic or not, the people of Hong Kong took an active part in the elections introduced in the 1990s, even if the system was never entirely free. In the last parliamentary election five years ago, 58 percent had cast their vote. In the 2019 district elections, it was even 71 percent. At that time, the democracy movement had won a landslide victory. In any case, there has never been such a low turnout as it is now since the handover in 1997. A spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry blamed the corona pandemic as well as "anti-Chinese elements" and "external forces" on Monday.

And Hong Kong's Prime Minister Carrie Lam again defended the new suffrage on Monday. "Anti-Chinese" elements were prevented from running, Lam stressed in front of journalists. The political situation will now calm down. "We cannot copy the so-called democratic system or the rules of western countries," said Lam. When asked why only 1.3 million of the 4.5 million registered voters cast their votes, Lam replied: "I cannot analyze what the reason is." One country, two systems ”.

Democracy activists and international governments, on the other hand, have long argued that Beijing's growing influence in Hong Kong is severely curtailing this principle.

That is why critics are now speaking of the principle of “one country, one system”.

Political scientist Kenneth Chan from Hong Kong's Baptist University also rated the low turnout as “extremely embarrassing” for the government.

Beijing: pandemic and overseas to blame for low voter turnout

Carrie Lam, whose first term in office is nearing its end, planned to travel to Beijing on Monday and meet with representatives of the Chinese central government.

The 1,500-strong committee of representatives loyal to Beijing, which also selected 40 of the Hong Kong MPs, will decide on the new head of government for the special administrative zone.

Lam has not yet indicated whether she is aiming for a second term.

Their approval ratings are currently around 36 percent.