China Encourages Voting in Hong Kong Legislative Council Election... Hong Kong Citizens Boycott Voting Movement

[Photo by EPA Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Byung-hee] Ahead of the Hong Kong Legislative Council (LegCo) election on the 19th (local time), China has stepped up efforts to encourage voting. This election, the first since the overhaul of Hong Kong's electoral system, features only pro-China candidates, leading Hong Kong citizens to launch a boycott movement.

According to Hong Kong Ming Pao on the 7th, Xia Baolong, Director of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council of China, delivered a video speech at an event commemorating "Hong Kong's participation in China's reform and opening-up" the day before. He urged participation in voting, saying, "Voting is not only for oneself but also a demonstration of firm trust in the 'one country, two systems' principle, hope for a prosperous nation, and a wish for Hong Kong's prosperity and stability."

Earlier, the National People's Congress (NPC) of China approved the draft reform plan for Hong Kong's electoral system in March, and in May, the Hong Kong Legislative Council approved the reform plan.

The electoral system was restructured based on the principle of "patriots governing Hong Kong." Accordingly, candidates for the Election Committee, Chief Executive, and Legislative Council must pass a two-step vetting process by the National Security Committee and the Candidate Eligibility Review Committee. Under the pretext that only patriots can run, this effectively restricts candidacy to pro-China figures.

In the Election Committee election held in September, the first after the electoral reform, 99.7% of the elected members were pro-China figures.

Ahead of the Legislative Council election, opposition to the electoral reform has sparked blank ballot campaigns and other protests. The Hong Kong pro-democracy camp is not fielding any candidates in this election, causing controversy. In this election to select 90 members, 153 candidates from the pro-China camp are running. Ming Pao and the South China Morning Post (SCMP) analyzed that even the candidates' pledges are monotonous and largely similar. There are even suspicions that the Chinese government pre-coordinated the candidates and fielded token candidates just to avoid uncontested elections. In response, some are advocating for a "blank ballot" to show resistance or boycotting voting to create the lowest turnout in history.

Ivan Choi, a senior lecturer in political science and public administration at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, told Ming Pao, "It is unprecedented for a senior official of the Chinese State Council to give a speech related to the election just two weeks before the Hong Kong election." He explained, "This shows that the Chinese government attaches great importance to the Hong Kong Legislative Council election, including voter turnout," and added, "Director Xia seems to have intended to counter foreign criticism of this election."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.