Hong Kong elections: up to 6,000 officers to be deployed, as No 2 official touts ‘special meaning’ of Sunday polls
- State media Xinhua hails exclusion of ‘those stirring trouble’ and ‘bottom line of steel’ in first elections under Beijing overhaul
- Police officers assigned to provide security for elections will outnumber voters
Hong Kong police will deploy between 5,000 and 6,000 officers on Sunday when some 4,900 people go to the polls to vote for members of the powerful Election Committee, as part of the city’s first political race under a system overhaul imposed by Beijing.
The polls would bear “special meaning”, paving the way for the principle of “patriots governing Hong Kong”, the city’s No 2 official John Lee Ka-chiu declared on his official blog on Saturday.
State media Xinhua also called the exclusion of “those stirring trouble in Hong Kong” a “bottom line of steel” in a commentary ahead of the elections.
Critics have taken issue with a significant reduction in the voter base and the lack of competition, with most opposition candidates either shunning the Election Committee polls or having been banned from it.
But Sunday’s ballots – featuring only two opposition faces – are expected to provide a glimpse into the room for manoeuvre left for those willing to press on with a more moderate form of dissent amid the city’s changed political landscape.
