Hong Kong's sham elections discredited by absence of opposition

Today the Hong Kong public go to the ballot box in the first election in the city's post-democracy era.

The Legislative Council elections are the first to take place under new rules written by Beijing which cut the number of directly elected Legislative Councillors, allow mainland residents to vote, and bar pro-democracy candidates from running by introducing “patriotic” background vetting. Almost all of the candidates running in the elections are supportive of the establishment and aligned with the Chinese Communist Party in Beijing.

The entire pro-democracy slate was rounded up and arrested for subversion on 6 January 2021. They are still awaiting trial. Hong Kongers have this week been taking to social media calling for Carrie Lam to #ReleaseMyCandidate.

These elections have also been marred by arrests, absurd claims by Carrie Lam that a low-turn out will vindicate the Hong Kong Government’s record, and threats to prosecute journalists and polling companies. 

Johnny Patterson, Policy Director of Hong Kong Watch, said: "These sham elections are a farce. The Communist Party in Beijing decided that an easy way of winning the election would be to lock up the entire opposition and rig the rules. This is not a democratic vote, it is a propaganda exercise which has no legitimacy."

香港的立法會選舉因缺乏反對聲音而失去意義

香港的選民今天於後民主時代首次參與投票。

今次立法會選舉將首次根據北京訂定的新選舉規例進行，新的規例削減直選立法會議員的議席、容許內地居民投票，以及透過進行「愛國」背景審查禁止民主派候選人參選。幾乎所有候選人都是建制派，並與中國共產黨站在同一陣線。

整個民主派陣營在 2021 年 1 月 6 日因串謀顛覆國家政權罪遭到圍捕，他們目前仍在等待審判。今個星期不少香港人響應呼籲，在社交媒體上加入香港監察的 #ReleaseMyCandidate 活動，促請林鄭月娥釋放民主派候選人。

民主派人士被捕、林鄭月娥聲稱低投票率將證明香港政府的工作表現良好、以及記者和民調機構面臨被檢控的威脅，這些事態發展都已玷污今次的選舉。

香港監察政策總監Johnny Patterson表示︰「這場虛假的選舉是一場鬧劇。中國共產黨認為贏取選舉的簡單方法，是鎖起整個反對派及操縱選舉規則。這不是民主投票，只是沒有合法性的政治宣傳。」