New York, Dec 6 (IANS) Human Rights Watch (HRW), a US-based advocacy group, criticised Hong Kong’s Legislative Council election, scheduled for Sunday, as a “sham”, saying that it exposes Beijing’s tightening grip.
Without a single pro-democracy candidate, the rights body said, the Chinese government’s attempts to present the legislature of Hong Kong, known as the LegCo, as legitimate “hardly fool anyone”.
According to the HRW, any Hong Kongers quietly boycotted the previous election in 2021, resulting in a record-low turnout.
“Five years into its sweeping crackdown, Beijing has seized full control of the LegCo. It revised laws to ensure that only Chinese Communist Party loyalists could run, cut directly elected seats from 35 to 20 out of 90, disqualified elected pro-democracy lawmakers, and imprisoned dozens of leaders of the city’s pro-democracy movement. Pro-democracy parties have disbanded. The last active group, the League of Social Democrats, folded in June,” the rights body stated.
The rights body emphasised that Beijing is not only eradicating the entire pro-democracy camp, but days before the candidacy deadline, at least 22 veteran pro-Beijing lawmakers announced that they would not seek re-election. Analysts contend “Beijing engineered this shake-up to install figures even more loyal to the party”.
The HRW noted that LegCo now includes a growing number of mainland officials with deep ties to the Chinese government but little knowledge of Hong Kong. It added that election debates—which used to be highly spirited—now appear as “hollow and stilted” as the election itself.
“Hong Kong authorities are cracking down on those poking holes in the facade. Authorities arrested at least eight people for inciting; others not to vote. In November, a national security judge sentenced a woman to one year in prison for promoting the Hong Kong Parliament, a diaspora-led initiative to establish an unofficial democratic legislature outside China,” the rights body added.
The HRW highlighted the recent devastating Tai Po fire in Hong Kong, which has raised concerns of government negligence, noting that the lack of democratic institutions carries real costs—not only in lives but also in effective governance.
“Demands for government accountability following the fire appear to be making Beijing jittery. But instead of increasing repression in Hong Kong at considerable cost, the Chinese government should act to restore the openness that once defined Hong Kong’s vibrant and prosperous society,” the HRW asserted.
–IANS
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