Electoral reform bill passed in HK

Move aims to better implement 'patriots administering Hong Kong' principle

The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region's legislature passed an electoral reform bill on Thursday that aims to facilitate the full implementation of the "patriots administering Hong Kong" principle in the city.

The Improving Electoral System (Consolidated Amendments) Bill 2021 was approved in a 40-2 vote and will take effect on Monday upon being published.

Highlights of the bill include restructuring the Election Committee that chooses the city's top leader, revising the method to elect the chief executive, updating the composition of and method for the formation of the Legislative Council, and redetermining the eligibility of candidates.

According to the bill, the Election Committee will be expanded from 1,200 members from four sectors to 1,500 members from five sectors. The new sector will comprise local representatives of the National People's Congress, China's top legislature, and members of other national organizations.

The bill requires all Election Committee members to pledge allegiance to the Hong Kong SAR.

The Legislative Council will be expanded from 70 to 90 seats, 40 of which will be elected by the Election Committee, 30 by functional constituencies and 20 by geographical constituencies through direct elections.

The bill also lists a timetable for the coming elections to be held in the city. The Election Committee subsector elections will be held on Sept 19 and the Legislative Council general election will take place on Dec 19. The chief executive election will be held on March 27.

Hong Kong's passing of amendments to electoral laws has opened a new chapter of good governance in the special administrative region, the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council said in a statement shortly after the bill was approved.

The bill, together with the National Security Law for Hong Kong and the public offices bill passed earlier this month that requires Hong Kong public officers to bear allegiance to the city, established a new order of "patriots administering Hong Kong", the office said.

In a separate statement, the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in Hong Kong said the electoral improvement created "a democratic electoral system in line with the actual situation in Hong Kong".

The "democratic, open and progressive bill" effectively guarantees the rights of Hong Kong residents to vote and to stand for election. The legislative process itself is a reflection of democracy and the rule of law since the government fully absorbed comments from the broad community during multiple rounds of meetings and has reflected them in a total of 369 amendments, it said.

Welcoming the passage of the bill, Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said in a statement that the improvement to Hong Kong's electoral system is both timely and necessary, as anti-China forces had created chaos in the Legislative Council, paralyzed the operation of the Hong Kong SAR government, and even colluded with external forces to undermine Hong Kong's security and interests. "No country or government could turn a blind eye to such dangers," she said.