[1/8]Volunteers campaign for their party during the district council election in Hong Kong, China, December 10, 2023. Portal/Tyrone Siu acquires license rights
HONG KONG, Dec 10 (Portal) – Three Hong Kong pro-democracy activists were arrested on Sunday just before voting began in a “patriots-only” district election that has seen formerly popular opposition leaders in the city sidelined under strict national security measures became.
The pro-China government is trying to increase voter turnout as some observers observe large numbers of voters rejecting the elections, in stark contrast to the last local elections in 2019 when a record 71% turnout during mass pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong a landslide victory was recorded for the democratic camp.
Police arrested three members of the League of Social Democrats in the central business district, the group said. She had planned to protest the “birdcage election,” which she said lacked any democratic scope because government vetting requirements had barred virtually all Democrats from running.
“The people of Hong Kong do not seem to have the right to vote and vote,” the group said in a statement, adding that they had been followed since leaving home in the morning.
Police said in a statement that they had arrested three people on suspicion of “attempting to incite others to commit acts that disrupt the district elections.” The three were arrested for investigation.
Rules introduced in July reduced directly elected district council seats by almost 80% compared to four years ago.
All candidates must now undergo national security clearances and secure nominations from pro-government committees. At least three pro-democracy groups, including moderates, and even some pro-Beijing figures failed to secure enough nominations.
“HARD TO TALK ABOUT DEMOCRACY”
The changes further restrict freedom of choice in the former colony, which Britain returned to Chinese rule in 1997. The crackdown, under a national security law enacted by China in 2020, has led to the arrest of former district councilors and the dissolution of major opposition parties.
“It is the final piece of the puzzle for us to implement the principles of the patriots who govern Hong Kong,” Hong Kong leader John Lee said as he cast his vote with his wife, claiming that the previous poll in 2019 had been misused to Sabotaging governance endangers national security.
There was strict security in many polling stations, and over ten thousand police officers were deployed to maintain order.
While some Western governments say the national security law imposed by China was used to crack down on dissent, China says it has brought stability to the financial center after the protracted pro-democracy protests of 2019.
For weeks, the major pro-Beijing and pro-government parties have been campaigning in large numbers, decorating the streets with posters and leaflets in an attempt to increase voter turnout. On Saturday evening, a carnival on the harbor with fireworks and patriotic pop singers called for last-minute voting.
Some were not convinced.
“The broad political spectrum of voices that we have seen for four years is gone,” said Tang, a 27-year-old who said she would boycott the vote and asked to be identified only by her last name.
Voter turnout was 15.47% at 2:30 p.m. (0630 GMT), compared with 42% at the same time in the previous election.
“In Hong Kong today, it is very difficult to talk about democracy or democratization,” said Kenneth Chan, a political scientist at Hong Kong Baptist University and a former pro-democracy lawmaker.
“What they are doing now is installing the so-called governance structure for patriots only.”
Reporting by Jessie Pang, Joyce Zhou, Dorothy Kam and Edward Cho; Edited by James Pomfret and William Mallard
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