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Soriek  11mo ago (text post)   1881 thread views

Transnational Thursdays XXX

This is the thirtieth weekly thread for people to discuss international news, foreign policy or IR history. I usually start off with coverage of some current events from a mix of countries I follow personally and countries I think the forum lives in or might be interested in. Feel free as well to drop in with coverage of countries you’re interested in, talk about ongoing dynamics like the wars in Israel or Ukraine, or even just whatever you’re reading.

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Hong Kong

Hong Kong held elections on Sunday, the first since the 2019 elections that elevated pro-democracy candidates and set off the whole conflict between HK and the mainland. Needless to say, the results this time were quite different:

Voter turnout plunged below 30% in Hong Kong’s first district council elections since new rules introduced under Beijing’s guidance effectively shut out all pro-democracy candidates, setting a record low since the former British colony returned to Chinese rule in 1997…

Beijing loyalists are expected to take control of the district councils after Sunday’s elections, with results showing big pro-government parties winning most directly elected seats…

The district councils, which primarily handle municipal matters such as organizing construction projects and public facilities, were Hong Kong’s last major political bodies mostly chosen by the public.

But under new electoral rules introduced under a Beijing order that only “patriots” should administer the city, candidates must secure endorsements from at least nine members of government-appointed committees that are mostly packed with Beijing loyalists, making it virtually impossible for any pro-democracy candidates to run.

An amendment passed in July also slashed the proportion of directly elected seats from about 90% to about 20%.

Many prominent pro-democracy activists have also been arrested or have fled the territory after Beijing imposed a harsh national security law in response to the 2019 protests.

Hong Kong always makes me sad. If ever there was a modern poster child for the axiom that the only rights you have are the ones you can enforce, it's Hong Kong. All the peaceful protest in the world won't sway an unsympathetic tyrant.

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