What Hong Kong election results reveal about new legislature full of ‘patriots’: three new forces could emerge to pile pressure on traditional loyalists
- Those with close links to mainland China, businessmen without strong political affiliations and academics in pro-establishment think tanks could potentially form blocs
- Among new faces, attention has swiftly turned to 10 winners with close links to mainland or state-owned enterprises
A bus captain, an electrician and former foreigners turned Chinese citizens – all of whom were candidates described by China’s top official overseeing Hong Kong affairs as embodying diversity – are not among the 90 elected in the city’s new legislature.
In the lead-up to the election and rejecting the notion that the legislature would be a hallmark of homogeneity, Xia Baolong, director of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, used a common Chinese phrase “five lights and 10 colours” to describe how Beijing welcomed diversity in the new chamber.
So does the new Legco pass this “five lights and 10 colours” test? A review of its composition suggests three new forces could emerge among the 90 newly minted lawmakers, alongside the traditional pro-Beijing loyalists.
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Pro-establishment bloc dominates Hong Kong Legislative Council after record-low turnout for election
The three blocs are elites with close links to mainland China, businessmen without strong political affiliations and academics from pro-establishment think tanks.
While critics denounced the lack of diversity in political views, with at least one describing the poll as “a performative selection ritual” to create an echo chamber, some analysts insisted the new line-up reflected a new type of representation able to work with the executive branch to tackle the city’s deep-seated problems.