Pro-Beijing camp’s landslide loss in district council elections ‘a chance for reflection’ on Hong Kong

Commentators in mainland China say the poll might kick-start some deeper thinking on public opinion and the central government’s approach to the city
High-profile tabloid accuses the West of helping opposition forces in the race

Hong Kong district council election

Kinling Loin Beijing

Published: 6:00pm, 25 Nov 2019

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Prominent mainland Chinese commentators called for reflection on Beijing’s handling of Hong Kong after the pro-democracy camp’s landslide win in local elections on the weekend.

Hong Kong’s district council elections are traditionally low-key events to choose representatives for community office, but Sunday’s poll was seen as a de facto referendum on more than five months of anti-government protests that have gripped the city.

The pro-democracy camp, defined by their general support for the protests, won control of 17 out of the 18 district councils, all of which previously had a pro-establishment majority.

Beijing has accused the West, especially the United States and “opposition parties and politicians” in Hong Kong, of fuelling protests triggered by a now withdrawn extradition bill that have since developed into calls for democratic reforms and an investigation into police use of force against the protesters.

Mei Xinyu, an economist affiliated with the Ministry of Commerce, said on Monday morning that “the landslide defeat in the Hong Kong district council elections could be a good thing if it resulted in deep reflection”.

“The mess in Hong Kong and a big defeat in the district council elections will hopefully kick-start rumination on its own Zunyi Conference,” Mei said in an online post, referring to a meeting of Communist Party leaders in 1935 that resulted in a personnel reshuffle and endorsed Mao Zedong’s leadership of the party and military.

In an opinion piece published after the election results, state tabloid Global Times said the outcome should not be understood as a sign of support for “mobs”.

“It is both inconceivable and totally impossible that most Hongkongers would encourage violence, support political confrontation against the mainland, and back the city to become a bridgehead for US political forces to pressure China,” the article said.

But it also accused “Western forces” of backing the opposition in the elections.

“It must be pointed out that the West has been helping the Hong Kong opposition in district council elections in the past week,” it said.

The article cited various overseas media reports last week as evidence of that help, including reports that Simon Cheng Man-kit, a former employee of the British consulate in Hong Kong, claimed to have been tortured during 15 days of detention on the mainland amid the protests.

It also referred to Australian media reports about Wang Liqiang, who claimed he was a mainland spy but was described by Shanghai police as a fraud.

Global Times editor-in-chief Hu Xijin urged pro-Beijing supporters not to be discouraged by the results, saying they should see them “as a foundation for the country to face the practical issues in Hong Kong and a focus to improve future work”.

“With the country so strong, the happenings in Hong Kong will not turn things upside down … staying united is most important,” Hu said.

As the ballot count continued into Monday morning, influential mainland commentator Ren Yi compared the elections in Hong Kong to a “referendum”, calling it “the only credible opinion poll”.

“Both the pro-establishment and pro-democracy camps have been politicising the elections, asking people to vote to have their voice heard on the political unrest … All parties [in Hong Kong] are driving people to vote in the ‘referendum’,” Ren wrote on his Chairman Rabbit WeChat account.

Ren, who has more than a million followers on Weibo, is regarded as very influential among Chinese officials.

“Hong Kong has been lacking a credible opinion poll, there has not even been a credible exit poll, so presumably both camps have no clear understanding of the election results and need to understand public opinion through this election,” he said, adding it would be necessary to study the demography of voting results.

Ren has published frequently on Hong Kong with a hawkish view towards the protesters.

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