China tightens its grip on HK, public to play less role in picking leaders

Pedestrians walk past a banner which reads ‘The Chinese Dream’, displayed opposite a stall where residents can sign in favour of changes to the local electoral system in Hong Kong on Thursday. Pic/AFP

China's ceremonial legislature on Thursday endorsed the Communist Party's latest move to tighten control over Hong Kong by reducing the role of its public in picking the territory's leaders. The measure adds to a crackdown against a protest movement in Hong Kong calling for greater democracy.

The crackdown has prompted complaints Beijing is eroding the autonomy promised when Hong Kong was handed to China in 1997 and hurting its status as a global
financial centre.

The National People's Congress voted 2,895-0, with one abstention, to endorse changes that would give a pro-Beijing committee power to appoint more of Hong Kong's lawmakers, reducing the number elected by the public. NPC members, who are appointed by the party, routinely endorse party plans by unanimous vote or overwhelming majorities. President Xi Jinping and other party leaders sat on stage in front of delegates as they cast votes electronically in the cavernous Great Hall of the People. The NPC has no real powers but the party uses its brief annual meeting, the year's highest-profile political event, to showcase government plans and major decisions.

Also Thursday, the NPC endorsed the ruling party's latest five-year development blueprint. It calls for stepping up efforts to transform China into a more self-reliant technology creator - a move that threatens to worsen strains with Washington and Europe over trade and market access.

Under the Hong Kong changes, a 1,500-member Election Committee would pick the territory's chief executive and an unspecified "relatively large" number of members of its 90-seat legislature. Committee members would come from five segments of society including business and political figures. That would give pro-Beijing forces more influence than a popular vote would.

1997
Year Hong Kong was handed over to China

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