While mainland coverage of Hong Kong’s legislative elections has been thin on the ground, reactions from official media to polling results – which saw the election of young legislators favoring self-determination for the semiautonomous territory – has been vociferous.
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After the failure of the Umbrella Movement to win political reform, morale in the pro-democracy camp waned, with Law and Wong in and out of court on protest-related charges. “We still have to unite in order to have stronger power to fight against the Chinese Communist Party”.
Another surprising victor was Yau Wai-Ching, 25, and Sixtus “Baggio” Leung, 30, of the Youngspiration party.
The poll was the first major election after the 79-day sit-in protest in 2014.
So in China’s mainland, young people are increasingly demanding military action against Hong Kong and Taiwan, while on Hong Kong and Taiwan, young people are increasingly demanding complete independence from China.
“These young lawmakers, especially Nathan Law, played an important role in leading the protests”.
The statement did not specify what an escalation might entail, but at a press conference on Tuesday representatives of the groups said they might lay siege to schools.
Several candidates were banned from running in the elections for failing to prove they no longer backed Hong Kong’s independence.
When people in Hong Kong last voted in legislative elections, in 2012, independence was not on the agenda – 2014 changed that.
In a statement, China’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office noted candidates had been publicly advocating for independence during the election campaign. “When we can’t trust “one country, two systems” and the Basic Law to maintain the distinction between Hong Kong’s system and Beijing, then the next step, the answer is to cut things off”.
“Following this election outcome, Beijing might adjust its strategy to administer the city, but there won’t be essential changes to its policies”.
Hong Kong’s politicians had always been divided into two camps.
Professor Lam holds a similar view, suggesting that Beijing will continue its carrot and stick approach. In the wake of that movement, tensions between the political opposition and the government escalated, with some radical democrats filibustering the government-submitted legislation such as the budget with a large number of questions and amendments.
The new faces in the LegCo also mean a decreasing power of the traditional pro-Beijing legislators.
Establishment figures retain a reduced majority in the legislature, with 40 of the 70 seats, down from 43.
Note that Leung had tied any decision to run for a second term to the outcome of these elections.
As there is no universal suffrage to elect the city’s leader, analysts say Beijing will likely tighten its grip on the election process, as a way to increase its control over the city.
Beijing might also push for the enactment of article 23, a controversial anti-subversion law that was proposed in 2002, but was shelved indefinitely in 2003 because of massive public opposition.
He said he had made a report to the city’s Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) after arriving back in the city on Monday. It has traditionally been dominated by pro-Beijing lawmakers but the growing support for parties like Demosisto has come alongside calls to make the LegCo fully democratic.
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In the digital age, young people are more attuned to global trends, such as the need for nations to compete by the attraction of their ideals rather than by force or by simply appealing to material self-interests.
