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Exclusive | Beijing mulling drastic overhaul of Election Committee deciding Hong Kong’s chief executive and Legislative Council to curb opposition’s influence: sources
- China’s top legislative body could begin process to scrap 117 committee seats decided by district councillors as it meets this week
- Beijing may also axe five legislative ‘super seats’ dominated by opposition camp to erode its influence in city’s political affairs, insiders say
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Beijing is mulling a drastic overhaul of the Election Committee that chooses Hong Kong’s chief executive by scrapping all 117 seats likely to be controlled by opposition district councillors to quash their influence in the 2022 leadership race, the Post has learned.
As part of sweeping proposals that sources said were meant to disempower the district councillors – many of whom were protesters and activists who won their seats riding on a wave of public discontent in last year’s elections – the city’s pro-establishment members were also lobbying Beijing to get rid of five so-called super seats from the local electoral map. Again, the intent was to erode the relevance of the opposition councillors, the insiders said.
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Sources said the proposals could be placed on the agenda of a meeting of China’s top legislative body, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPC), which was scheduled to run from Tuesday to Saturday. The measures – if endorsed – would be further scrutinised at the NPC’s next plenary session, which is due to kick off on March 5 next year. The plenary session this year was postponed until May due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The move to tighten control of the 1,200-member Election Committee would come at a time of the opposition’s increasing influence after last year’s social unrest sparked by a now-withdrawn extradition bill. The committee comprises business elites, professionals, social and religious leaders, the city’s 70 lawmakers, delegates to the NPC and members of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), as well as a total of 117 seats to be elected by district councillors from among their members.
After months of anti-government protests, opposition activists garnered 392 out of 452 seats during the 2019 district council elections, seen as a harbinger of the camp’s strengthening prospects for the Legislative Council polls. The latter was due to be held in September but was postponed by the government, citing the pandemic.
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