Hong Kong 'citizens are humiliated' and 'democracy is denied', says activist Nathan Law

After China approved new electoral rules for Hong Kong, pro-democracy activist Nathan Law slammed Beijing’s move and said that democracy is being “denied” and citizens are being “humiliated” in the city. While taking to Twitter, Nathan said that the new law shows how the Communist Party of China “destroys civility and liberties”. In a separate tweet, he even wrote that as all candidates in Hong Kong Legislative Council (LegCo) will now have to vetted by the National Security Bureau, there will be no opposition hereafter. 

“Freedom in Hong Kong are dead, and now the election,” Nathan wrote. 

Hong Kong’s new electoral system 

China on March 30 unanimously approved the most controversial and sweeping overhaul of Hong Kong’s electoral system, which will slash the number of directly elected seats in the city’s legislature from half to about one-fifth. According to the South China Morning Post, a National People’s Congress committee approved the proposal by 167-0 votes in favour. The new plan is expected to come into effect on Wednesday and will give Beijing greater power in Hong Kong’s electoral process.

According to SCMP, now the new plan will grant the Election Committee with new power to send 40 representatives to the Legislative Council, which has been expanded from 70 to 90 seats. Under the proposal, Hong Kong’s LegCo will be reduced from 35 to 20 seats, which dramatically diminishes the element of direct voting. The national security police unit would also help scrutinise candidates and submit a report to the newly formed vetting committee. 

As per the report, candidates will not be allowed to challenge the vetting committee’s decision in court. The committee would also have an odd number of people and the chairman would act as a tiebreaker. Moreover, the Election Committee will be expanded by 300 members. The new members will include patriotic groups and members of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPCC( to further reinforce the pro-establishment camp’s control of the body. 

The new political system overhaul is being compared to the controversial National Security Law that China had introduced in Hong Kong in 2020. The security law gave mainland China powers to detain pro-democracy lawmakers and anyone deemed a threat to Beijing’s authority in the city. Several pro-democracy protesters have been arrested under the law since it was implemented in June last year. Chinese authorities faced widespread protests against the National Security Law, which they managed to clamp down after the implementation of the law.

(Image: ANI/AP)