https://www.scmp.com/rss/510817/feed en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Willa Wu,Matthew Cheng Willa Wu,Matthew Cheng There is no such thing as a “blessing” or “special treatment” for candidates in Hong Kong’s coming Legislative Council poll, Beijing’s top office overseeing the city’s affairs has said, after at least 15 legislators decided against running for re-election. The Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office also said on Friday night that a change of lawmakers through Legco elections was standard practice and represented “the true meaning of democracy”. It said younger, more professional and innovative... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3329448/hong-kong-veteran-lawmaker-michael-tien-says-he-may-retire-ahead-election?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3329448/hong-kong-veteran-lawmaker-michael-tien-says-he-may-retire-ahead-election?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 17 Oct 2025 11:26:54 +0000 Alice Wu Alice Wu With less than three weeks left of the current Legislative Council term, speculation is high about who’s in and who’s out for the next Legco. Elections are due to take place on December 7. However, before voters head to the polls, candidates must first clinch their nominations from the Election Committee. To run for either the Election Committee, functional or geographical constituencies, a person must get nominated by at least two Election Committee members from each of the committee’s five... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3327903/hong-kong-must-look-beyond-age-selecting-capable-lawmakers?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3327903/hong-kong-must-look-beyond-age-selecting-capable-lawmakers?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 06 Oct 2025 01:30:08 +0000 Alice Wu Alice Wu Some readers might not know Hong Kong had an election a little over a week ago. And that’s OK, because most of us aren’t part of the 3,631 voters eligible to take part in the Election Committee subsector by-elections, held on September 7. The election achieved a phenomenal voter turnout rate of 97.33 per cent. The 1,500-member Election Committee had 93 vacancies that needed filling. Nearly 80 per cent of the seats were uncontested. The public may lack interest, but that doesn’t mean the Election... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3325337/john-lees-policy-address-must-illuminate-hong-kongs-way-forward?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3325337/john-lees-policy-address-must-illuminate-hong-kongs-way-forward?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 15 Sep 2025 01:30:09 +0000 Alice Wu Alice Wu Plans for the next Legislative Council are being cemented – the nomination process will begin on October 24, with the current term ending on the same day. However, the same can’t be said for the date of Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu’s policy address. So far, we’ve only been told it will be moved up to September, to make time for the Legco elections. Sources have reportedly said it will take place on September 17 but, so far, nothing is official. That doesn’t seem normal. That being said, just... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3322021/lawmakers-can-learn-cy-leungs-constructive-criticism-government?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3322021/lawmakers-can-learn-cy-leungs-constructive-criticism-government?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 18 Aug 2025 01:30:09 +0000 Hong Kong’s ability to recover from its difficulties would be much improved if it goes ahead with democratic reform. By introducing a system of one person, one vote for the position of chief executive, Hong Kong would have a government with much broader representation, giving it a stronger mandate to push through changes. Universal suffrage is already included in Article 45 of the Basic Law that governs Hong Kong, but no one is sure when and how it might be implemented. Hong Kong should delay... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hk-opinion/article/3257425/hong-kong-needs-full-universal-suffrage-unlock-full-potential?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hk-opinion/article/3257425/hong-kong-needs-full-universal-suffrage-unlock-full-potential?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 03 Apr 2024 01:30:11 +0000 The revamped district council election is widely seen as the final step on the path to complete a high-stakes governance overhaul vital for Hong Kong’s future. With a new league of “patriotic” councillors successfully returned following a ballot marred by technical glitches and an expected low turnout, the latest journey has just begun. Those representatives, together with the government, have to live up to expectations and prove that people’s livelihoods can genuinely improve under the new... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3244725/hong-kong-public-expects-better-city-promised-district-poll-revamp?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3244725/hong-kong-public-expects-better-city-promised-district-poll-revamp?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 11 Dec 2023 23:30:11 +0000 Hongkongers could have less time to cast their ballots in future citywide polls after a government watchdog suggested reducing the opening hours at voting stations, citing the limited impact a briefer window had on turnout for last year’s Election Committee selection process. But a political analyst on Tuesday warned that the recommendation from the Electoral Affairs Commission (EAC) could end up depriving some residents of their right to vote, explaining Hong Kong’s various polls had different... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3192377/hong-kong-watchdog-suggests-reduced-voting-hours-citys?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3192377/hong-kong-watchdog-suggests-reduced-voting-hours-citys?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 13 Sep 2022 12:57:01 +0000 Candidates running for Hong Kong’s arts funding body will have to secure nominations from a powerful committee dominated by pro-Beijing forces, with the government saying the move will ensure “national security elements” are addressed. While the Home Affairs Bureau, which oversees the city’s cultural and arts policies, said the change would bring the Arts Development Council poll in line with others held under a Beijing-decreed “patriots-only” electoral shake-up, a leading art critic expressed... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3182156/candidates-running-hong-kong-arts-body-will-need-get?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3182156/candidates-running-hong-kong-arts-body-will-need-get?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 17 Jun 2022 12:59:33 +0000 Chief executive hopeful John Lee Ka-chiu has described the financial industry as a “sharp tool” that could be used either by or against Hong Kong, during a meeting in which he also said the city’s legal system was “polluted by politics”. Lee made the remarks on Thursday during a virtual meeting with about 50 members of the Election Committee’s legal and accountancy subsectors, one day after he submitted his bid for the leadership. The sole contender backed by Beijing, Lee is all but guaranteed... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3174303/hong-kong-chief-executive-election-2022-john-lee-calls?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3174303/hong-kong-chief-executive-election-2022-john-lee-calls?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 14 Apr 2022 11:41:01 +0000 Former No 2 official John Lee Ka-chiu has submitted 786 nominations for his leadership bid, all but securing Hong Kong’s top job with the support of more than half the voters in the Election Committee that will pick the next chief executive in May. Among the nominators were some of the most powerful businessmen in the city, including CK Asset Holdings chairman Victor Li Tzar-kuoi, who is the eldest son of Li Ka-shing, and Henderson Land co-chairman Martin Lee Ka-shing. The former chief secretary... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3174082/hong-kong-chief-executive-election-2022-john-lee-submits?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3174082/hong-kong-chief-executive-election-2022-john-lee-submits?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 13 Apr 2022 03:14:20 +0000 Diplomats and business leaders have expressed both cautious optimism as well as disappointment at the possibility of John Lee Ka-chiu taking Hong Kong’s top job. The city’s No 2 official resigned on Wednesday, paving the way for a run in next month’s chief executive election as the sole candidate with Beijing’s blessing. Many saw the endorsement of Lee as Beijing putting emphasis on national security, but felt the policeman-turned minister’s ability to sustain Hong Kong’s place as a global... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3173300/reliable-limited-financial-exposure-mixed-reaction-business?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3173300/reliable-limited-financial-exposure-mixed-reaction-business?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 06 Apr 2022 23:30:27 +0000 No 2 official John Lee Ka-chiu formally resigned from the Hong Kong government on Wednesday to announce he would run in next month’s chief executive election, becoming the sole hopeful for the city’s top job with the blessing of the central authorities. Political and business heavyweights, including core members of outgoing leader Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor and predecessor Leung Chun-ying’s campaigns in previous elections, threw their support behind Lee as he stepped down from the chief... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3173203/hong-kong-chief-executive-election-2022-no-2-official-john?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3173203/hong-kong-chief-executive-election-2022-no-2-official-john?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 06 Apr 2022 03:13:18 +0000 The March election to determine Hong Kong’s next leader will proceed as planned, despite a recent spike in coronavirus cases, Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor has said. Explaining her rationale on Tuesday, Lam noted that the chief executive poll involved just a tiny fraction of the electors eligible to vote in a Legislative Council election, the last of which was postponed by a year amid a similar surge in cases in 2020. “It is far easier to put in place disease-control measures to... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3166222/chief-executive-election-2022-next-months-poll-will-go?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3166222/chief-executive-election-2022-next-months-poll-will-go?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 08 Feb 2022 05:45:37 +0000 The only person to have currently thrown his hat into the ring for the Hong Kong chief executive election next month has admitted that he does not have any connections with Beijing nor has he received the blessing of any top officials. Making his first public speech at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club after declaring he would run for the race last month, film producer and kung fu master Checkley Sin Kwok-lam on Monday said he had received lots of criticism in the past two weeks, accusing him of... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3166106/wildcard-checkley-sin-says-he-has-no-beijing-connections?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3166106/wildcard-checkley-sin-says-he-has-no-beijing-connections?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 07 Feb 2022 09:31:55 +0000 Elites known for their technical expertise and managerial skills make up more than half of a new constituency intended by Beijing to boost diversity, the Post has found, but the elected members defended the need for such technocrats to solve the city’s problems. A survey of the 40 new lawmakers elected through the Election Committee constituency at Sunday’s Legislative Council poll found that 21 of them – or 53 per cent – declared their occupations as professionals, with six of them being... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3160592/hong-kong-legislative-council-election-technocrats-make?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3160592/hong-kong-legislative-council-election-technocrats-make?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 21 Dec 2021 14:18:16 +0000 Hong Kong’s strict quarantine policy is “more politics than science”, according to former InvestHK director general Mike Rowse, who has thrown his hat into the ring for this month’s Legislative Council election. Rowse also said he “felt sorry” for his successor in charge of the government department tasked with convincing foreign companies that Hong Kong was still a “go-to” place for business, with more than 50 countries now classified as high risk under local Covid-19 travel rules, as the... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3158810/hong-kong-elections-are-citys-tough-covid-19-quarantine?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3158810/hong-kong-elections-are-citys-tough-covid-19-quarantine?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 08 Dec 2021 03:15:18 +0000 Hong Kong should quickly enact additional national security protections and press ahead with eliminating the legacy of British colonial rule, candidates argued on Friday in a debate pitch for the biggest block of seats in the revamped legislature. The televised face-off, the first held over a Legislative Council race, drew all 51 hopefuls eligible for the 40 spots reserved for the powerful Election Committee that dominates the city’s political landscape and will hold sway in the enlarged,... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3157460/hong-kong-election-beijing-loyalists-vying-legco-seats-look?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3157460/hong-kong-election-beijing-loyalists-vying-legco-seats-look?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 26 Nov 2021 05:56:28 +0000 As nominations for the Legislative Council election close on Friday, one noteworthy trend is the growing prominence of aspiring candidates from mainland Chinese enterprises and the professional classes. Will they compete with the traditional pro-Beijing bloc? Ng Kang-chung and Jeffie Lam look at the issue in the first of a three-part series on the Legco nominations. Simon Hoey Lee is a rising star in Hong Kong’s pro-establishment camp, even though he has no party affiliation. A legal expert on... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3155743/there-are-new-political-elites-town-who-are-they-and-will?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3155743/there-are-new-political-elites-town-who-are-they-and-will?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 12 Nov 2021 00:00:13 +0000 Xia Baolong, head of the State Council’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, has said that the Hong Kong governance team must not only love the country and Hong Kong, but also have the integrity and ability to govern. For this, it is necessary for our governance team to have a wealth of grass-roots work experience and a good understanding of all classes and sectors. Office holders also need to have the sensitivity as well as practical solutions to deep-seated problems, to protect the fundamental... https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3154766/legislative-council-elections-let-race-begin-future-leaders-reach?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3154766/legislative-council-elections-let-race-begin-future-leaders-reach?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 04 Nov 2021 21:30:25 +0000 Only 15 applicants filed papers when nominations opened on Saturday for Hong Kong’s first Legislative Council poll under an electoral overhaul ordered by Beijing, less than half the number typically seen on the first day of the two-week application period. By the end of the day, a government spokesman said five candidates had signed up to run in the 20-seat geographical constituencies. Another five registered for the functional constituencies, which have 30 seats. The remaining five applicants... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3154301/hong-kong-elections-only-15-hopefuls-file-papers-first-day?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3154301/hong-kong-elections-only-15-hopefuls-file-papers-first-day?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 30 Oct 2021 14:07:47 +0000 Hong Kong’s election watchdog has urged the government to streamline procedures, deploy experienced staff and improve in “areas of incompetence”, as it completed its investigation into the vote count delay of a recent major poll. The Election Committee race on September 19, the first poll under a Beijing-decreed overhaul of the political system, had been closely watched by the local and central governments. But electoral officials had made mistakes in the delivery of documents, spending much... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3153398/streamline-procedures-improve-areas-incompetence-coming?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3153398/streamline-procedures-improve-areas-incompetence-coming?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 22 Oct 2021 14:57:37 +0000 A top adviser to Hong Kong’s leader has questioned the need for judges who “live in the clouds” to oversee city polls following vote-counting delays in the recent Election Committee race, even as she insisted she was not targeting incumbent Barnabas Fung Wah. New People’s Party chairwoman Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee said on Monday the role of supervising electoral processes under Beijing’s reformed system would be more suited to those with a solid background in administration than jurists. “I’m not... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3150318/hong-kong-elections-voting-debacle-triggers-call-review?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3150318/hong-kong-elections-voting-debacle-triggers-call-review?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 27 Sep 2021 12:28:23 +0000 Barely days after getting elected last Sunday, members of Hong Kong’s powerful new Election Committee have begun eyeing the next political prize on the table – Legislative Council seats. Different camps are hoping to sweep the most positions available, angling to be among the 40 lawmakers who can represent the Election Committee in the legislature, now expanded from 70 to 90 seats. Nominations for December’s Legco election will be held over two weeks from October 31, and pro-establishment... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3150190/fight-club-hong-kong-election-committee-members-strategise?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3150190/fight-club-hong-kong-election-committee-members-strategise?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 27 Sep 2021 00:00:21 +0000 The new and improved electoral system that Beijing has tailor-made for Hong Kong hardly got off to a flying start. Rather, it began with a litany of errors that meant it took 14 hours after the polls had closed to count 4,380 votes for only 13 subsectors. The level of incompetence required for that to happen is shockingly high, and this was after Vice-Premier Han Zheng called on Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor to ensure the elections went smoothly. It’s not every day that Hongkongers... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3149942/hong-kongs-election-committee-embarrassment-shows-above-all?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3149942/hong-kongs-election-committee-embarrassment-shows-above-all?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 26 Sep 2021 22:45:14 +0000 Just 419 new voters registered in Hong Kong over the past 12 months, compared with nearly 334,000 who did so last year, official data released on Sunday showed. The number of voters aged 20 or younger also dropped by more than 20 per cent over the past year, in what one analyst called the latest sign of public disillusionment with politics in the city. According to the data from the Registration and Electoral Office, 4,467,363 people signed up to vote in 2021, a gain of 419. The office held its... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3150187/hong-kong-elections-number-voters-aged-20-or-below-drops-22?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3150187/hong-kong-elections-number-voters-aged-20-or-below-drops-22?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 26 Sep 2021 12:34:42 +0000 Hong Kong’s leader said on Tuesday she was sorry for the “serious” delays to vote counting in the city’s first poll since Beijing overhauled the electoral system, and pledged to prevent the same problems from afflicting the Legislative Council contest in December. Two days after the Election Committee vote, Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor weighed in on the hold-ups that left candidates and their staff waiting overnight for the results. Responding to a reporter’s question about the... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3149546/hong-kong-leader-carrie-lam-sorry-election-committee-voting?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3149546/hong-kong-leader-carrie-lam-sorry-election-committee-voting?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 21 Sep 2021 06:53:35 +0000 The revamped, 1,500-strong Election Committee, a linchpin of Hong Kong’s overhauled voting system, is finally in shape following a peaceful poll marred only by grave counting delays. With two bigger elections scheduled in December and March, the authorities must seriously review the process. Election Committee members must also put public good ahead of sectoral interests and exercise their duties conscientiously when selecting the next chief executive and legislators. Sunday’s nine-hour poll... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3149455/election-committee-members-now-bear-even-heavier-burden?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3149455/election-committee-members-now-bear-even-heavier-burden?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 21 Sep 2021 02:00:18 +0000 All candidates at Hong Kong’s Election Committee poll on Sunday had to be vetted to ensure they were “patriots” before they could run, but to voters, there appeared to be some deemed more patriotic than others. The criterion, followed by a reliance on “brand name” candidates, trumped voters’ other considerations, analysts said, as they studied the slate of winners and losers in the city’s first “patriots only” election under Beijing’s overhaul. Voters seemed to be assessing candidates’ political... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3149481/how-win-hong-kong-elections-political-credentials-trump?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3149481/how-win-hong-kong-elections-political-credentials-trump?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 21 Sep 2021 00:00:29 +0000 From document delivery and cross-checking of ballots to paper jams in vote-counting machines – whatever could go wrong in Hong Kong’s first poll under the Beijing-decreed electoral overhaul went wrong, leading to a 14-hour wait for the results. It took nine hours for electoral authorities overseeing the poll for the powerful Election Committee to announce the results for the first of 13 subsectors, one that involved just 55 votes. Another five hours lapsed before counting of all 4,380 ballot... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3149482/how-it-all-went-wrong-counting-votes-key-hong-kong-election?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3149482/how-it-all-went-wrong-counting-votes-key-hong-kong-election?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 20 Sep 2021 16:30:18 +0000 Hong Kong’s first election under a Beijing-decreed political overhaul may have ensured only “patriots” will hold office, but that does not mean certain “lazy” pro-establishment winners have done enough to engage with the public when it comes to the issues, an adviser to the central government has said. Noting that many hopefuls in Sunday’s Election Committee race did not even bother writing down their stances in the space provided on the nomination forms, Tian Feilong, an associate professor at... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3149468/hong-kong-elections-patriots-may-have-triumphed-lazy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3149468/hong-kong-elections-patriots-may-have-triumphed-lazy?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 20 Sep 2021 13:24:39 +0000 Hong Kong’s first Election Committee with newly amassed powers was formally created hours after landmark elections ended on Sunday. The conclusion of the city’s first electoral race under a Beijing-decreed system overhaul set the city on an unprecedented path of living with a powerful, new committee that could reshape Hong Kong’s political landscape. Apart from choosing the next chief executive and lawmakers, the 1,500-strong committee may take up new roles such as monitoring the city government... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3149350/hong-kong-now-has-powerful-election-committee-will-it-be?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3149350/hong-kong-now-has-powerful-election-committee-will-it-be?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 20 Sep 2021 06:15:20 +0000 A powerful new Election Committee dominated by Beijing loyalists and pro-establishment figures is set to play a deciding role in Hong Kong’s coming legislative and leadership polls after its membership was established on Monday morning. The full results were declared following a delayed vote count that took nearly 14 hours, after the first poll since Beijing’s drastic overhaul of the city’s political system to ensure only those deemed “patriots” would hold public office. The announcement of the... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3149378/hong-kongs-election-committee-finalised-after-marathon-vote?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3149378/hong-kongs-election-committee-finalised-after-marathon-vote?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 20 Sep 2021 03:54:15 +0000 Only one of two opposition-leaning candidates running in Hong Kong’s Election Committee polls won on Sunday – by a narrow margin and with a little luck – after earlier expressing optimism that alternative views would still be represented under a new governance system decreed by Beijing. Tik Chi-yuen and Francis Chau Yin-ming were the only two names not from the pro-establishment ranks to contest in Sunday’s elections as more than 4,000 voters ballots were cast for members of a powerful body that... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3149363/hong-kong-elections-just-one-opposition-friendly-candidate?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3149363/hong-kong-elections-just-one-opposition-friendly-candidate?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 20 Sep 2021 00:20:28 +0000 Hong Kong’s first critical election under the Beijing-decreed electoral overhaul on Sunday hit a major snag as a delay in vote counting overnight prompted candidates to demand answers on why it took over 10 hours for the full results when only 4,380 ballot papers had to be tallied. Electoral Affairs Commission chairman Barnabas Fung Wah apologised for the delay and admitted the process of delivering the ballot boxes and vote counting was “unsatisfactory”. “At this stage, I can say they were... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3149353/hong-kong-elections-city-wraps-first-patriots-only-polls?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3149353/hong-kong-elections-city-wraps-first-patriots-only-polls?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 19 Sep 2021 16:31:55 +0000 Hong Kong lawmaker Dr Pierre Chan, the sole remaining independent voice in the legislature, has revealed he will not seek another term. Chan, 45, a gastroenterology specialist at a public hospital, said on Sunday he would continue to treat patients after the end of his five-year term as the representative for the medical functional constituency. He hinted that the current political situation could be why he decided against seeking another term in December. “During my five-year tenure, I have... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3149326/independent-pierre-chan-decides-against-seeking-another?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3149326/independent-pierre-chan-decides-against-seeking-another?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 19 Sep 2021 09:41:17 +0000 Voters fanned out across five polling stations in Hong Kong on Sunday to cast their ballots for members of the powerful Election Committee, marking the city’s first political race under a Beijing-decreed system overhaul. Under the central government’s radical revamp, designed to ensure only “patriots” govern Hong Kong, the original 1,200-strong Election Committee has been expanded by 300 seats and given new powers to not only elect the city’s next leader, but nominate candidates to the... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3149297/hong-kong-elections-voters-fan-out-across-5-polling?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3149297/hong-kong-elections-voters-fan-out-across-5-polling?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 19 Sep 2021 01:11:18 +0000 Hong Kong goes to the polls today, the first time since the onslaught of the Covid-19 epidemic. It is also the first of a series of revamped elections under the Beijing-imposed framework that aims to allow only those who pass the government’s loyalty test to be in elected office. Although the ballots to form the high-powered Election Committee that chooses the future chief executive and some lawmakers are beyond the reach of millions of people, it is in the city’s interest to make the elections... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3149287/election-committee-polls-must-be-clean-credible-and-safe?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3149287/election-committee-polls-must-be-clean-credible-and-safe?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 18 Sep 2021 16:17:21 +0000 Chinese Vice-Premier Han Zheng has called on Hong Kong’s leader to ensure the city’s three coming landmark elections proceed smoothly, urging her also to implement the “patriots governing Hong Kong” principle. Han issued the instructions at a meeting with Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor in Shenzhen on the eve of the Election Committee polls on Sunday, the first such election since Beijing ordered a massive overhaul of the electoral system. Some 4,900 voters will elect about 300... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3149279/chinese-vice-premier-han-zheng-tells-hong-kong-leader?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3149279/chinese-vice-premier-han-zheng-tells-hong-kong-leader?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 18 Sep 2021 12:14:59 +0000 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... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3149242/hong-kong-police-will-deploy-6000-officers-election?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3149242/hong-kong-police-will-deploy-6000-officers-election?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 18 Sep 2021 04:35:03 +0000 Sunday’s Election Committee polls will be very different to the previous five trips to the ballot box in Hong Kong since the city’s return to Chinese sovereignty. Under Beijing’s overhaul of the Hong Kong electoral system aimed at ensuring only “patriots” can hold political power, the race for seats on the powerful body has so far largely been an uncontested affair, with a significantly reduced voter base. Officials champion the revamp as putting Hong Kong “back on the right track” following the... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3149217/hong-kong-elections-5-things-watch-out-sundays-polls-first?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3149217/hong-kong-elections-5-things-watch-out-sundays-polls-first?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 18 Sep 2021 03:00:34 +0000 https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/series/3148823/spotlight-hong-kong-election-committee-polls?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/series/3148823/spotlight-hong-kong-election-committee-polls?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 15 Sep 2021 08:15:28 +0000 Hong Kong police are not taking any chances and plan to deploy at least 4,000 officers to ensure smooth and peaceful polls for the powerful Election Committee on Sunday even though only 4,900 voters are expected to cast their ballots, the Post has learned. Mostly trained in riot control, the officers would be positioned at the five polling stations, the ballot-counting centre and high-risk locations, insiders said on Tuesday. Traffic police would also be mobilised to set up roadblocks if needed,... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3148759/hong-kong-elections-police-deploy-4000-officers-ensure?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3148759/hong-kong-elections-police-deploy-4000-officers-ensure?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 14 Sep 2021 15:36:45 +0000 Hundreds of prominent Hong Kong businessmen and Beijing loyalists who sit on the powerful Election Committee that picks the city’s leader launched a campaign over the weekend to boost public interest in the body’s coming elections. The central government’s liaison office had tasked the heavyweights with carrying out the unprecedented outreach drive ahead of the September 19 races, according to a source. “We were told that face-to-face interactions are a must,” said one lawmaker and ex officio... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3148367/hong-kong-election-committee-polls-hundreds-prominent?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3148367/hong-kong-election-committee-polls-hundreds-prominent?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 10 Sep 2021 23:00:27 +0000 Voting hours for the first Hong Kong polls since Beijing drastically reformed the city’s electoral system will be reduced following a fall in the number of people eligible to cast ballots. Special arrangements allowing voters with a fever to attend polling stations also feature among more than 60 amendments to the guidelines revealed on Friday ahead of the September contest for the newly empowered Election Committee. The Electoral Affairs Commission will for the first time use a digital system... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3142298/hong-kong-elections-voting-hours-slashed-election-committee?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3142298/hong-kong-elections-voting-hours-slashed-election-committee?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 23 Jul 2021 11:03:43 +0000 Several obscure groups will help choose members of a revamped Election Committee that will decide Hong Kong’s next leader, a Post investigation has found. The organisations successfully registered with the committee’s new grass-roots wing, a subsector created earlier this year to give the working class a wider say in government. A number of them, however, counted fewer than 200 followers on Facebook and shared an identical address. Critics argued the inclusion of the little-known groups, with... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3141732/small-obscure-newly-powerful-closer-look-community-groups?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3141732/small-obscure-newly-powerful-closer-look-community-groups?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 20 Jul 2021 00:00:59 +0000 Only some 20,000 to 30,000 voters will be eligible to cast ballots for competitive seats on Hong Kong’s revamped Election Committee this year, a mere fraction of the 246,000 registered in the last race. Following a drastic, Beijing-led overhaul of the city’s electoral system, about a third of the newly empowered Election Committee’s members will either be appointed by the authorities or granted their seats by virtue of other offices they hold. Changes to how the remaining two-thirds of electors... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3138216/hong-kong-electoral-changes-no-more-30000-voters-will-take?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3138216/hong-kong-electoral-changes-no-more-30000-voters-will-take?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 21 Jun 2021 13:37:03 +0000 Beijing loyalist Kenneth Fok Kai-kong has hailed a “new force” representing young Hongkongers on a reformed body that will wield significant power over major polls under an electoral overhaul, in remarks made on the first television talk show hosted by the city’s leader. The 41-year-old businessman, who is a grandson of late tycoon Henry Fok Ying-tung, was a guest on a Thursday episode of RTHK programme Get to Know the Election Committee Subsectors. Fok is vice-chairman of the All-China Youth... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3131681/hong-kong-electoral-overhaul-beijing-loyalist-hopes-be-voice?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3131681/hong-kong-electoral-overhaul-beijing-loyalist-hopes-be-voice?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 29 Apr 2021 15:20:27 +0000