Hong Kong is holding a legislative assembly election on Sunday in which candidates have been vetted for 'patriotism' and pro-democracy candidates are largely absent, having declined to run or been jailed or forced into exile.
Hong Kong's political elite will pick new city lawmakers on Sunday under Beijing's"patriots only" rules that drastically reduce the number of directly elected seats and control who can run for office.
Critics say the law has been used to curb fundamental freedoms of speech and assembly, silence opposition, jail pro-democracy activists and disband civil rights groups, in contravention of the terms of the handover. Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam, center, and other officials attend a press conference in Hong Kong.But Beijing has said the changes to electoral law plug the "loopholes and deficiencies" that it said threatened national security after mass protests in 2019.
The legislature has been enlarged to 90 from 70 seats, with the proportion of directly elected seats reduced from half to less than a quarter of seats - just 20. Critics say the changes make it next to impossible for democrats to hold any substantial influence or act as a check on the executive.AAPThe main opposition parties, including the Democratic Party and Civic Party, have declined to run for election, characterising the poll as undemocratic.
On 6 January, the Hong Kong police arrested over 50 pro-democracy politicians. The following month, 47 were charged with conspiracy to commit subversion by joining the primary poll. Thirty-three are in prison awaiting trial, and 14 are out on bail.
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