The National People's Congress (NPC) initiated electoral changes in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) on 11 March 2021 to "amend electoral rules and improve the electoral system" for its chief executive (CE) and the Legislative Council (LegCo), in order to ensure a system in which only Chinese Communist Party-defined "patriots" govern Hong Kong. The reforms have been widely criticized for their negative impact on the democratic representation in the Hong Kong legislature.
With the National People's Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC) amending the Annex I and Annex II of the Basic Law of Hong Kong, the compositions of the Election Committee (EC), which is responsible for electing the Chief Executive, and the Legislative Council were revamped. The size of the Election Committee was increased from 1,200 to 1,500 seats with a sizeable number of new seats nominated and elected by government-appointed and Beijing-controlled organisations. The Legislative Council was increased from 70 to 90 seats. The directly elected 35 current seats shrunk to 20 seats, and an extra 40 seats would be elected by the Election Committee. A new vetting mechanism would also be created for every candidate running for the Chief Executive, the Legislative Council and the Election Committee based on the approval of the Hong Kong Committee for Safeguarding National Security according to the review by the National Security Department of the Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF) whose decision would be final and could not be appealed.
The electoral changes, which came after the passing of the Hong Kong national security law in June 2020 and the subsequent mass crackdown including arrests of opposition activists, were widely seen as a move to further curb the influence of the pro-democracy camp in the wake of the widespread anti-government protests of 2019 and the electoral landslide of the 2019 District Council election.
Background 2019 anti-extradition protests and electoral landslide
Since the transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong in 1997, the democratic movement had been calling for genuine universal suffrage for the Chief Executive, the Legislative Council (LegCo) as enshrined in the Article 45 and the Article 68 of the Basic Law of Hong Kong. The National People's Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC) had repeatedly ruled out universal suffrage, first in 2004 and again in 2007. However, in the 2007 decision, NPCSC stated that the universal suffrage might be implemented in the 2017 Chief Executive election. With the 2012 electoral system being unchanged, the moderate democrats struck a deal with the Beijing authorities in the 2012 constitutional reform package in 2010 which allowed the enlargement of the Election Committee (EC) and the creation of the five new District Council (Second) seats to be nominated by the District Councillors and elected by popular vote.
The breakthrough between the pro-democrats and the Beijing authorities did not quell the demand for universal suffrage. Instead it created internal strife and fragmentations between different factions in the pro-democracy camp and the rise of localist movement which called for more confrontational approach. The decision on the constitutional reform framework laid by the NPCSC on 31 August 2014 dashed the hopes of the democracy activists striving for the right to direct elections, which triggered the 79-day Occupy protests. The democratic development in Hong Kong had stagnated since then, while a new wave of independence movement was on the rise. In the 2016 New Territories East by-election, pro-independence activist Edward Leung received over 15 per cent of the popular vote despite his loss to the pro-democratic Civic Party's Alvin Yeung. Leung and other pro-independence activists were then barred from running in the September general election. Baggio Leung and Yau Wai-ching of Youngspiration, who was backed by Edward Leung, were elected, but were soon disqualified over their oath-taking manner.
With pro-democrats infighting, Occupy activists imprisoned and the pro-independence movement suppressed, the democratic movement seemed to run out of steam. Then in the summer of 2019, Chief Executive Carrie Lam’s push for the amendment to the extradition law triggered a series of unprecedented widespread protests. The protesters soon demanded genuine universal suffrage as one of their five key goals. In November 2019, the pro-democrats received a historic electoral landslide victory in the District Council election, inflicting a heavy defeat on the pro-Beijing parties by taking over more than 80 per cent of the seats and seizing control of 17 of the 18 District Councils. In January 2020, Wang Zhimin was removed from his post as Director of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in Hong Kong which was widely seen as a response to his failure to advise the central government accurately about the vulnerability of pro-Beijing candidates at the election.
National security law and "patriots governing Hong Kong"
In June 2020, the NPCSC enacted the Hong Kong national security law to criminalise "separatism, subversion, terrorism and foreign interference" which many interpreted as a crackdown on civil liberties, government critics, and the independence movement. In July, the pro-democrats organised a territory-wide primary election to maximise their chance to obtain a majority in the upcoming Legislative Council election, despite the government warning of their potentially breaching the new national security law as some of the candidates vowed to vote down the government budget in order to pressure the administration to respond to the demands of the protesters. Chief Executive Carrie Lam abruptly invoked the Emergency Regulations Ordinance to postpone the election, citing the recent resurgence of the COVID-19 cases. However the decision was widely seen as the latest in a rapid series of aggressive moves by the Beijing authorities to thwart opposition momentum and neutralise the pro-democracy movement. The 55 organisers and candidates in the primary were later arrested under the national security law on 6 January 2021, making it the largest crackdown under the national security law since its passage.
After the passage of the national security law, the Beijing authorities began to stress the importance of "patriots governing Hong Kong." On 11 November 2020, the NPCSC adopted a decision. The decision barred Legislative Council members from supporting Hong Kong independence, refusing to recognise Beijing's sovereignty over Hong Kong, seeking help from "foreign countries or foreign forces to interfere in the affairs of the region", or committing "other acts that endanger national security". It also unseated the four sitting legislators, Alvin Yeung, Kwok Ka-ki, Dennis Kwok and Kenneth Leung, whose candidacies had been invalidated by the returning officers earlier in July. Zhang Xiaoming, deputy director of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office (HKMAO) stated that "patriots governing Hong Kong" had become a new "legal norm". He urged the "comprehensive and accurate understanding and implementation" of the principle of "One Country, Two Systems". He stressed that one should see that "One Country" of the socialist system with Chinese characteristics led by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) being the premise and foundation for "Two Systems" which support and guarantee Hong Kong's capitalist system; safeguarding national sovereignty, security and development interests being the primary purpose of "One Country, Two Systems"; the central government's overall jurisdiction being the source of a high degree of autonomy; Hong Kong's legal system being incorporated into the constitutional order on the basis of the National Constitution and the Basic Law; Hong Kong's development being inseparable from and benefited from the mainland; and "patriotism" should be added before the core values of democracy, freedom and human rights.
On 27 January 2021, CCP general secretary Xi Jinping said that Hong Kong could only maintain its long-term stability and security by ensuring "patriots governing Hong Kong" when he heard a work report delivered by Carrie Lam. On 1 March, HKMAO director Xia Baolong in the seminar of "patriots governing Hong Kong" stated that Hong Kong must establish a "democratic electoral system with Hong Kong characteristics."
NPC decision
On 5 March 2021, National People's Congress (NPC) vice chairman Wang Chen unveiled a draft resolution to "adjust and improve" Hong Kong's electoral system in the coming NPC session. Chinese state media Xinhua stated an editorial that "for years, anti-China forces seeking to disrupt Hong Kong have been colluding with external forces in an attempt to seize the jurisdiction over Hong Kong, with clear goals and concrete actions," it reported. "Effective measures must be taken to block these pawns of anti-China forces from being elected to HKSAR’s governance architecture, and knock them out once and for all." In his annual work report to the National People's Congress, Premier Li Keqiang stated that "we will resolutely guard against and deter external forces' interference in the affairs of Hong Kong and Macau."
Local media reported that the composition of the Legislative Council (LegCo) would be increased from 70 seats to 90 seats, with the reintroduction of the Election Committee constituency elected by the Election Committee (EC), the 1,200-member electoral college responsible for nominating and electing the Chief Executive (CE). The Election Committee would effectively dilute the number of directly elected Legislative Council members. The size of the Election Committee would also be increased to 1,500 members, filled with members of the Beijing-appointed Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and other pro-Beijing groups, replacing the seats elected by the democrat-controlled District Councillors. The Election Committee would also be given new powers to vet Legislative Council and District Council candidates. Wang said the new rules would fix the "loopholes" in Hong Kong's electoral system, which had allowed opposition activists who advocated for the Hong Kong independence to be elected. Due to the new composition of the Legislative Council would be basis on the Election Committee elected in late 2021, the postponed 2020 Legislative Council election might be delayed for another full year, according to the local media reports.
The National People's Congress on 11 March voted 2,895 in favour, zero against and one abstention, for the changes to Hong Kong electoral system. In addition to the tightening of the control of the Election Committee, a Chief Executive candidate would have to secure 188 nominations, at least 15 nominations from each of the five sectors in order to enter the race. The decision would also create a "qualification vetting system" for Hong Kong's electoral process to screen out candidates.
Provisions The decision has nine articles: Improving the electoral system of the HKSAR must fully and faithfully implement the policy of "one country, two systems" under which the people of Hong Kong administer Hong Kong with a high degree of autonomy, uphold the constitutional order in the HKSAR as established by the Constitution and the Basic Law, ensure the administration of Hong Kong by Hong Kong people with patriots as the main body, effectively improve the governance efficacy of the HKSAR, and safeguard the right to vote and the right to stand for election of permanent residents of the HKSAR.