Hong Kong to hold chief executive election next year in March: Reports

The Hong Kong Chinese special administrative region (HKSAR) announced to hold an election for the next chief executive of Hong Kong in March next year, Beijing's mouthpiece Global Times reported on Saturday. According to the reports, the election would be held on March 27, 2022. Citing a press release of the SAR government, Global Times said elections for seven specified offices, including one from the education subsector, three from the medical and health services subsector, one from the architectural, surveying, planning and landscape subsector, and two from the engineering subsector would also take place in March 2022.

Hong Kong to hold chief executive election in March

The report also informed that the voting for the Election Committee's subsector ordinary elections was completed earlier in September this year. It said that the polling had filled nearly 1,500 seats in the region's Election Committee. Further, Beijing's mouthpiece said that the Commissioner's Office of China's Foreign Ministry in the HKSA blasted the Western-led interference for intervening in Hong Kong internal affairs and added the disqualification of certain members of the Hong Kong Legislative Council (LegCo) was in accordance with the law. Reiterating the 'nationalism' issue in the disqualification of certain members, the report said the action was taken in accordance with the principle of 'patriots administering Hong Kong.'

Hong Kong's draconian National Security Law

Meanwhile, on March 11, a decision on reforming the electoral system of the HKSAR was adopted with an overwhelming majority vote at the fourth session of the 13th National People's Congress, which is regarded as an important step in implementing "patriots administering Hong Kong," Chinese state media reported. As China has increased control over Hong Kong through varieties of laws including the draconian National Security Law, the people of the semi-autonomous city are facing increasing policing and crackdown.

Also, China imposed a national security law on June 30 last year as a response to widespread anti-government protests in 2019 that roiled the city. Most of Hong Kong's opposition lawmakers are either in jail or have fled overseas since the national security law crackdown began. Meanwhile, on October 16, a Hong Kong district court convicted seven Hong Kong activists for up to a year of imprisonment for their involvement in a demonstration last year against China's national security law.  

(With inputs from ANI)

(Image: Instagram/Carrie Lam/Shutterstock)