Beijing allows four pro-democracy lawmakers to serve out their terms even after they were barred from running for re-election.
After a succession of recent moves to crack down on democracy in Hong Kong, Beijing on Tuesday appeared to show a little restraint and refrained from pushing out four of the city’s opposition lawmakers. The decision by a top legislative committee in Beijing means that the four pro-democracy lawmakers are likely to retain their seats in Hong Kong’s legislature for the rest of an extended term despite being barred from seeking re-election. Many had expected the National People’s Congress Standing Committee to rule that the elected lawmakers had to go, a decision that would have been in line with Beijing’s ongoing campaign to sideline the city’s pro-democracy camp. Tuesday’s vote indicated that officials in Beijing may have wanted to avoid triggering widespread public outrage with such an expulsion. “From Beijing’s point of view, the intention is the prevention and control of conflict and controversy, so Hong Kong can concentrate on tackling the pandemic and dealing with livelihood issues,” said Lau Siu-kai, a former Hong Kong government official who is now a senior Beijing adviser on Hong Kong policy. The announcement came a day after the police launched a dramatic move against critics of the government, arresting Jimmy Lai, a prominent pro-democracy media mogul, along with his two sons and four of his executives on national security charges, and raiding the offices of his newspaper. The sweep was the latest action demonstrating China’s determination to quash dissent with an expansive national security law it imposed on the city on June 30.
