Leading Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Nathan Law has said he will not use his newly-won seat on the Legislative Council (LegCo) to push for independence from China.
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Fears that Hong Kong’s freedoms are disappearing were fanned after five city booksellers known for salacious titles about Beijing politicians disappeared, resurfacing in detention on the mainland.
Candidates were competing for the 70 seats on the LegCo, which passes laws and budgets in the territory.
The vote count began after Sunday midnight in Hong Kong, with the results expected on Monday.
Hong Kong citizens have the rights to determine their own future.
The pro-democracy camp now controls 27 of 70 seats, and must keep at least a third of the seats to retain veto power.
The victory by emerging politicians including 23-year-old Nathan Law, who cut his teeth during the Occupy protests of 2014, sets the stage for a further escalation of tensions with Beijing, which vehemently rejects separatism.
Another surprising victor was Yau Wai-Ching, 25, and Sixtus “Baggio” Leung, 30, of the Youngspiration party.
“We firmly oppose any activity relating to Hong Kong independence in any form, inside or outside the Legislative Council, and firmly support the Hong Kong government to impose punishment in accordance with the law”, state news agency Xinhua cited a spokesperson of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office of the State Council – China’s cabinet – as saying.
“I’m not advocating independence, I’m advocating Hong Kong people should enjoy [their] rights of self-determination”, he told the BBC.
The more strident independence activists – slammed by Beijing and Hong Kong authorities as acting illegally by promoting the breakaway – were banned by the government from running in Sunday’s election, a move which sparked outrage over political censorship.
Several veteran democrats lost their seats, as voters backed a new batch of younger candidates espousing self-determination and a more confrontational stance with China.
The outgoing British Consul-General Caroline Wilson told the Hong Kong Free Press news site last week that Britain does not support independence for Hong Kong.
Counting is still under way in one geographical constituency and in several of the many functional constituencies, but so far the alliance of pro-democratic candidates has managed to hold on to the 18 seats they need to retain veto power in the council.
The election was for Hong Kong’s Legislative Council, a 70-seat lawmaking body that is only semidemocratic: half of its members are directly elected by the people; the rest, under an electoral system that has been described as the “world’s weirdest”, are largely selected by representatives from various sectors of the economy.
Lawmakers are supposed to start their mandate by swearing an oath to uphold the constitution, which describes Hong Kong as part of China. The democrats are fighting to keep control of at least a third of the seats, which gives them veto power to block the government from enacting unpopular legislation, including a renewed attempt to enact Beijing’s election revamp that triggered the 2014 street protests.
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Only 40 seats are directly elected by the public.
