The outcome of an unprecedented vetting mechanism for candidacy has offered the first glimpse of how stringent revamped elections will be under Beijing’s directive to exclude those deemed “unpatriotic”. While opposition lawmaker Cheng Chung-tai, of the Civic Passion localist faction, was surprisingly unseated after he failed to pass the test, some relatively moderate pan-democrat hopefuls were allowed in. It seems the Candidate Eligibility Review Committee has not just applied high standards, it also has de facto power to remove lawmakers on national security grounds when an Election Committee is due to be formed to pick the city’s leader and some lawmakers. The decision cannot be challenged in the courts. How it will affect perception of electoral fairness and the opposition’s incentive to come forward will be closely watched.

Cheng won a seat with his localism platform in 2016. He was praised by the State Council’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office last year when he broke ranks with the opposition to stay on while others in the camp resigned en mass to protest against the disqualification of four allies. Responding to the loss of his seat, Cheng was adamant that he was patriotic. He said the disqualification might be related to his calls for amending the Basic Law. Whether a candidate is fooling the vetting body with rhetoric is a matter of subjective judgment. Lee’s criticisms may serve the purpose of showing the government’s determination to shut out unacceptable candidates, but it is in public interest to explain what exactly has cost the seat of a properly elected lawmaker. The details will be an important reference to other aspirants.