Hong Kong 'patriots only' legislature convenes first session

Hong Kong’s legislature has convened for the first time since elections last month that were held under new legislation ensuring that only “patriots” who have proven their loyalty to Beijing could run as candidates

HONG KONG -- Hong Kong’s legislature convened Wednesday for the first time since elections last month that were held under new legislation ensuring that only “patriots” who have proven their loyalty to Beijing could run as candidates.

The 90-seat Legislative Council, known as LegCo, is now completely dominated by Beijing’s allies. Leading opposition figures are in jail, exile or have been intimidated into silence, and independent media outlets forced to close.

The largest pro-democracy party, the Democratic Party, decided not to field candidates rather than lend legitimacy to what it regards as a fundamentally undemocratic process. Just 20 of the seats were directly elected, and the turnout of 30.2% was the lowest since the British handed Hong Kong over to China in 1997. All candidates were vetted by a largely pro-Beijing committee before they could be nominated.

Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam opened Wednesday’s session, using the opportunity to criticize former legislators who she said were “anti-China and who have attempted to destabilize Hong Kong, had tried to politicize council businesses and made it difficult for LegCo to fully perform its functions."