Beijing silent on reported changes to Hong Kong’s political system, but sources say that doesn’t mean they’re off the table

After days of speculation about potential moves to blunt opposition influence, China’s top legislative body concludes its meeting with no mention of the matter

However, sources in both the city and on the mainland say the silence may simply reflect that more time is needed to finalise the proposals

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The National People’s Congress Standing Committee concluded a five-day meeting on Saturday, making no mention of Hong Kong. Photo: Reuters

Published: 10:58pm, 26 Dec 2020Updated: 8:35am, 27 Dec 2020

Top officials in Beijing concluded their five-day meeting on Saturday without making any reference to the prospect of a major overhaul of Hong Kong’s political system, as had been reported extensively by local media in the past week.

However, the omission could merely mean the central government needed more time to work out the steps for draining the system of “undesirable elements”, sources have suggested, leaving the city’s opposition still at risk of yet another round of purges.

During the five-day bimonthly meeting, the National People’s Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC) discussed matters ranging from underage offenders to national defence. But it did not touch on local media reports that Beijing would disqualify the city’s opposition district councillors, or on the Post’s exclusive report that the central government had plans to reform the 1,200-member committee that elects the city’s chief executive.

“There was nothing [on the agenda] in relation to Hong Kong,” Tam Yiu-chung, Hong Kong’s sole delegate to NPCSC, said after attending the meeting in the Chinese capital.

NPCSC delegate Tam Yiu-chung said there was nothing pertaining to Hong Kong on the body’s agenda at its most recent meeting. Photo: AP

Sources on Tuesday had told the Post that Beijing was mulling a drastic overhaul of Hong Kong's Election Committee by scrapping all 117 seats likely to be controlled by opposition district councillors to quash their influence in the 2022 leadership race.