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Hong Kong pro-democracy candidates won back only two of four seats in a crucial by-election in the semiautonomous Chinese region, final results showed Monday.
The results mean the opposition wasn’t able to recapture all its territory, losing some to formidably resourced pro-Beijing rivals in the city’s semi-democratic legislature.
The four seats were among six left empty when a group of lawmakers were expelled following a 2016 controversy over their oaths, which they used to defy China.
Little-known activist Au Nok-hin won a key battleground. He was enlisted at the last minute after officials rejected the pro-democracy camp’s marquee candidate, 21-year-old Agnes Chow, for her party’s political platform.
The disqualifications of lawmakers and candidates have raised fears among activists and international groups that Hong Kong’s Beijing-backed government is taking an increasingly hard line on dissent.
“I won’t say the result today is a victory,” Au said after his results were announced.
