中國全國人大批准徹底改變香港選舉制度

 A few days ago Hong Kong's SCMP  reported the following on line:

China’s NPC approves sweeping changes to Hong Kong electoral system

Sarah Zheng

Published: 3:16pm, 11 Mar, 2021

China’s national legislature has approved a resolution to drastically overhaul Hong Kong’s electoral system to ensure only “patriots” can rule the city, in a sweeping move critics fear will further quash opposition voices.

The National People’s Congress (NPC) passed the resolution on Thursday afternoon by a near-unanimous vote, paving the way for the biggest shake-up to the city’s electoral system since its return to China in 1997.

Delegates voted 2,895 in favour of the proposal, which will authorise its standing committee to finalise the details of the electoral reform process. They applauded for the longest period after the Hong Kong electoral proposal was passed.

Chinese state-run news agency Xinhua confirmed shortly after the vote that, under the new electoral system, members of the NPC and the Chinese People‘s Political Consultative Conference – the country’s top political advisory body – will be part of the Election Committee selecting the city’s leader next year.

The Election Committee will be expanded to add these 300 Beijing loyalists, who will become a fifth sector of the expanded 1,500 member body. The other four groupings – business, professional, social and political, will continue to have 300 members each.

The Legislative Council will also be expanded to 90 seats from 70, and will be elected through the committee, functional constituencies and through direct elections.

A vetting committee will be established to review potential candidates for the committee and Legco, effectively barring opposition candidates not deemed sufficiently “patriotic”.

To implement the decision, the NPC Standing Committee will also amend Annex I and Annex II of Hong Kong‘s basic law, the city’s mini-constitution.

At the same time, 117 seats on the Election Committee elected by the city’s district councillors – dominated by the opposition after the 2019 polls – are expected to be scrapped, further diluting the opposition’s influence.

While the NPC has never voted down a proposal, the margin by which they are passed is seen as an indication of the level of support for the measures. Last year, the NPC approved the proposal for the national security law in Hong Kong with a vote of 2,878 in favour and one against, with six abstentions.

Chinese officials have insisted the measures are necessary to establish a “democratic electoral system with Hong Kong characteristics” and to ensure national security is upheld, but critics have warned it will limit the space for opposition in the city and roll back years of effort to liberalise the system.

Li Zhanshu, chairman of the National People’s Congress Standing Committee, said this week the “legal combination punches” from the moves were meant to “safeguard the constitutional order of Hong Kong” following antigovernmental protests in 2019.

Ahead of the NPC’s vote on the electoral measures, Britain said the proposed changes would be another attack on the former British colony’s rights and freedoms. The US and other countries have also slammed Beijing for charging 47 opposition politicians and activists in Hong Kong with subversion under the national security law, which came into effect in the city last June.

The NPC on Thursday – the final day of its meetings in Beijing this year – also approved the government ‘s annual work report, which laid out plans for the year ahead, including a GDP growth target of “above 6 per cent”, an increase in the military budget by 6.8 per cent, and plans for China to become a manufacturing powerhouse.

Delegates also passed Beijing’s 14th five-year plan, with 2,873 in favour, 11 objections and 12 abstentions. The five-year policy blueprint places key emphasis on the “dual circulation” development strategy that aims to reduce China’s reliance on overseas demand, greater investment in technological research, as well as bolstering food, energy and financial security.

Translation

中國國家立法機關通過了一項決議，對香港的選舉制度進行大刀闊斧的改革，以確保只有“愛國者”才能統治香港。批評者擔心這一舉措將進一步壓制反對派聲音。

全國人民代表大會（NPC）週四下午以近乎一致的投票通過了該決議，為自1997年回歸中國以來對該市選舉制度進行的最大改革而鋪平了道路。

代表們對該提案投了2895票，該提案將授權其常務委員會最終確定選舉改革進程的細節。他們在香港選舉提案獲得通過後, 作出最長時間鼓掌。

投票後不久，中國國營新聞社新華社證實，在新的選舉制度下，全國人大和中國最高政治諮詢機構, 中國人民政治協商會議的成員將成為選舉委員會的成員，選舉該市明年的領導人。

選舉委員會將擴大，以增加這300名北京忠實擁護者，他們將成為擴大後的1,500個成員機構中的第五組別。其他四個組別 – 商業，專業，社會和政治，將繼續各自擁有300名成員。

立法會也將從70個席位擴大到90個席位，並將分別通過委員會，職能選區和直接選舉產生。

一個審查委員會將成立，以審查該委員會和立法會的潛在候選人，從而有效地禁止那些被認為不足夠“愛國”的反對派候選人。

為執行該決定，全國人大常委會還將修訂香港基本法, 即香港的微型憲法的附件一和附件二。

同時，預計將廢除該市地方議員選舉產生的117個選舉委員會席位，這些席位在2019年選舉後由反對派主導。這將進一步稀釋反對派的影響力。

全國人大從未投票否決過一項提案，但通過這些提案的比率被視為表明對這些措施的支持程度。去年，全國人大以2878票贊成，1票反對，6票棄權，通過了香港國家安全法提案。

中國官員堅持認為，採取這些措施對於建立“具有香港特色的民主選舉制度”和確保國家安全是必要的。但批評人士警告說，這將限制該市的反對空間，並逆轉多年把制度民主化的努力。

全國人大常委會委員長李占書本週表示，在2019年反政府抗議活動之後，上述舉動的“法律組合拳”旨在“維護香港的憲政秩序”。

在全國人大對選舉措施進行表決之前，英國表示，其提議的變更將是對前英國殖民地的權利和自由的另一次攻擊。美國和其他國家也抨擊北京，指控其根據國家安全法, 對香港的47名反對派政治家和激進分子進行檢控。該法律於去年6月在香港生效。

全國人大在周四（今年北京會議的最後一天）也批准了政府的年度工作報告，該報告列出了來年的計劃，包括將GDP增長目標定在“ 6％以上”。軍費預算增加了6.8％，並計劃使中國成為製造業強國。

代表們還通過了北京的第十四個五年計劃，贊成票數為2,873，反對票數為11，棄權票數為12。五年政策藍圖重點放在“雙循環”發展戰略上。該戰略旨在減少中國對海外需求的依賴，加大對技術研究的投資, 以及加強糧食，能源和金融安全。

So, the new changes to the Basic Law will dilute the opposition’s influence in Hong Kong. It will reduce the voice of the opposition and increase pro-Beijing voices in three major ways. First, the 117 seats on the Election Committee elected by the city’s district councilors – dominated by the opposition after the 2019 election – would probably be scrapped. Second, a new vetting committee will be established to review potential candidates running for the Committee and the Legislative Council, effectively barring opposition candidates not deemed sufficiently “patriotic”. Third, the Election Committee will be expanded by adding 300 Beijing loyalists.