Beijing-Led Electoral Reforms for Hong Kong Redefine 'Democracy,' Critics Say
Voice of America
TAIPEI, TAIWAN - Hong Kong’s legislature will undergo major changes to its format and structure as a result of Beijing's approval of a political shakeup that will expand its control over the semiautonomous city.
China’s National People's Congress, the Communist Party's rubber-stamp legislative body, passed a resolution earlier this month proposing the overhaul, which would make it harder for candidates from Hong Kong’s pro-democracy opposition to be elected. The revamp, signed into law Tuesday by President Xi Jinping, reduces the number of directly elected seats on Hong Kong’s Legislative Council and increases the number of pro-Beijing voices. Those seeking office will face strict vetting by a special committee, which critics expect to shut out pro-democracy forces and ensure that “patriots” govern the Chinese city.A person votes at a polling station during a special voting day, ahead of South Africa's general elections to elect a new National Assembly, in Cape Town, South Africa, May 27, 2024. Elderly special voter Thelma Thembeka Dingaan, 65, checks her ballot papers at her home in the Yeoville neighborhood of Johannesburg, South Africa, on May 27, 2024.
This undated handout photo taken by the UN Development Programme and released on May 28, 2024 shows locals digging at the site of a landslide at Mulitaka village in the region of Maip Mulitaka, in Papua New Guinea's Enga Province. This photo released by UNDP Papua New Guinea, shows a landslide in Yambali village, in the Highlands of Papua New Guinea, May 27, 2024. Authorities fear a second landslide and a disease outbreak are looming at the scene of Papua New Guinea's recent mass-casualty disaster.
Ali Larijani, left, and Saeed Jalili, right, are seen in this 2008 photo by Iranian state-approved news site Asr Iran in 2008. (Asr Iran) Iran's interim president Mohammad Mokhber speaks during the opening ceremony of Iran's 12th parliament in Tehran, Iran, May 27, 2024. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS FILE - Presidential candidate Saeed Jalili attends an election debate at a television studio, in Tehran, Iran June 8, 2021. Morteza Fakhri Nezhad/YJC/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS FILE - Iranian parliament speaker Ali Larijani attends a news conference at the Iranian embassy in Beirut's southern suburbs, as a picture of late Iran's Quds Force top commander Qassem Soleimani is seen in the background, Lebanon February 17, 2020. FILE - Iranian Minister of Roads and Urban Development Mehrdad Bazrpash and the Russian Ministry of Transport Vitaly Savelyev during a ceremony in Tehran, Iran, May 17, 2023. Iran's Presidency /WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS Parviz Fattah, head of Iranian state-owned enterprise Execution of Imam Khomeini's Order (EIKO), is seen in this photo posted on the EIKO website on May 14, 2024. (EIKO)
A TV screen shows a file image of North Korea's rocket launch during a news program at a bus terminal in Seoul, South Korea, May 27, 2024. FILE - Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi speaks to reporters in Colombo, July 29, 2023. FILE - A TV screen shows a report of North Korea's spy satellite into orbit with its third launch attempt this year with an image of North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un during a news program at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Nov. 22, 2023.