Outside Hong Kong, there had never been much attention paid to the district council elections, a kind of neighbourhood elections, until 2019 when the pro-democracy candidates swept the polls, the same ones who had been leading noisy protests for five months calling for greater freedoms and universal suffrage. There was a historic turnout, above 70%.

Beijing interpreted the results as a historic challenge to its sovereignty in the former British colony. Therefore, after sweeping the street demonstrations, the next step was to change the rules of the electoral system so that only 'patriots' could occupy a seat in the institutions.

This Sunday, Hong Kong had a date with the polls again. Like four years ago, it was time for elections for the 18 district councils that the metropolis embraces. But the only interesting thing, with pro-democracy parties disqualified after the 2021 electoral reform, was to know how high the level of disaffection among Hong Kongers was after the Chinese government erased much of the autonomy enjoyed by the city.

At press time, turnout was the lowest in an election since the former British colony returned to Chinese rule in 1997 under the conditions of maintaining a semi-autonomous system for 50 years with the failed experiment of 'One Country, Two Systems', of which only the name now remains.

The local authorities tried to push people into the street, and in the process get them to vote. Museums were free, concerts were held, and there were drone shows in various parts of the city. Even the airline Cathay Pacific offered huge discounts on flights so that Hongkongers living abroad could return. But there was no appeal in an election that was not pluralistic at all.

There is a basic reason why it was impossible to repeat the results of four years ago, when pro-democracy parties took 242 of the 300 seats available: only patriots can now stand in Hong Kong elections.

This was expressed on Sunday by the head of the local Executive, John Lee. "It is the last piece of the puzzle for us to implement the principles of the 'patriots' who rule Hong Kong," the leader said as he voted, adding that the previous elections in 2019 were used to "sabotage governance and endanger national security."

More than 10,000 police officers were deployed on election day and some arrests were made. Three politicians from the League of Social Democrats, one of the banned parties, were arrested after they announced their intention to hold a protest outside a polling station. A couple of days earlier, according to local media, a 77-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of sedition for "a plan to protest against the elections."

Hong Kong has never been a fully democratic region. Before the earthquake of the protests, the head of the local executive was appointed directly by Beijing and only half of the chamber was voted for by direct suffrage. But until the electoral reform, it was tolerated for critics to occupy seats in a plural parliament in which, although they were never in the majority, they could have their say and participate in the votes on the bills.

According to the 2021 electoral reform, all candidates, in order to run, must pass the filter of a committee chosen by Beijing. That committee has to ensure that the city is governed by 'patriots'. As a result, the few opposition leaders who remain in the city – a few are in prison and others in exile – have been left out.

That all changed after pro-democracy protests in 2019, which began with peaceful marches against a bill allowing the extradition of fugitives to mainland China. Protesters succeeded in getting then-Chief Executive Carrie Lam to overturn the law. But it was not enough because those in the streets had already embraced other demands that they were not going to let go, such as having complete universal suffrage so that the people can also elect the head of government.

The pandemic left the streets empty and Beijing took advantage of it to cook up a national security law whereby any act of protest, or that the authorities consider an independence or subversive proclamation, can be considered sedition and the maximum penalty is life imprisonment. What followed was the arrest of hundreds of activists who led the 2019 protests and the resignation en bloc of all anti-Beijing MPs, many of whom are on trial for subversion.

  • China
  • Hong Kong
  • Asia