Only „patriots“ should be elected
The latest news out of Hong Kong isn’t good, though that’s nothing new these days. China has issued yet another mandate regarding elections in the city and they’re clearly not even trying to hide what they’re doing at this point. Under the current system, Hong Kong’s 70-person legislature is chosen under a hybrid system where 35 members are elected by the public and the other half are selected by an “election committee” composed of loyalists to Beijing. Following this mandate, the legislature will be significantly expanded, but even fewer seats will be decided via public elections. Anyone considering running for office on a pro-democracy platform is hearing a very unsubtle message from the Chinese Communist Party at this point. (Associated Press) China has sharply reduced the number of directly elected seats in Hong Kong’s legislature in a setback for the territory’s democracy movement. The changes were announced Tuesday after a two-day meeting of China’s top legislature.
