Hong Kong electoral changes: ‘no opposition, no excuses’ – but will Carrie Lam government and allies do a better job of governing now?
- Real work of keeping the pro-Beijing camp unified, filling roles with capable politicians starts now, camp insiders say
- Pressure is on government and lawmakers to drive economic recovery, fix social problems without the excuse of a filibustering opposition, legislators say
For Hong Kong’s pro-establishment politicians and officials, passing the legislation on Thursday delivering the Beijing-imposed overhaul of the city’s electoral system was the easy part.
With the new law effectively expanding the pro-establishment’s influence in key political bodies, the tough tasks ahead are preserving internal unity and filling those organisations with the right people, according to camp insiders.
“In the past, when I asked the government to amend certain laws, officials kept telling me that it will take years because of the opposition camp’s antics,” said Federation of Trade Unions lawmaker Alice Mak Mei-kuen.
“Officials preferred to come up with some administrative guidelines which wouldn’t solve problems. Now, and with the new legislature, there’s no such excuse any more.”
Hong Kong passed a landmark bill on Thursday to drastically reshape the city’s electoral landscape to ensure only patriots were allowed to run the city, following anti-government protests in 2019 that roiled the city for months.
Under the central government’s reforms, the Election Committee, tasked with selecting the city’s chief executive, will expand by 300 seats to become a 1,500-strong institution, with a new sector drawing its membership from prominent national bodies.