China's approval of changes to Hong Kong's electoral system has been condemned by the US as "a direct attack on Hong Kong's freedoms and democratic processes", but China says it aims to place power "firmly in the hands of forces that are patriotic".
China's National People's Congress has approved a draft decision to change Hong Kong's electoral system, further reducing democratic representation in the city's institutions and introducing a mechanism to vet politicians' loyalty to China.
China is responding to pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong in 2019, which it saw as a threat to China's national security. Since then, most high-profile democratic politicians and activists have been sent to jail or are in self-exile.
A spokesman for China's parliament, Wang Chen, says the decision aims to place the power of governing the city "firmly in the hands of forces that are patriotic and love Hong Kong".
The legislators gathered in the Great Hall of the People burst into sustained applause when the 2,895 to 0 vote tally, with one abstention, was projected onto screens.
In a separate statement, Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam pledged her "staunch support" and expressed "sincere gratitude."
At last year's meeting of the National People's Congress, the Communist Party leadership imposed a sweeping national security law on the finance hub. Source: Visual China Group
The restructuring is aimed at getting the city "back on the right track," Lam said.
The changes virtually eliminate any possibility of the opposition affecting the outcome of elections in the former British colony, whose return to Chinese rule in 1997 came with a promise of a high degree of autonomy.
The blanket requirement for "patriotism" raises the risk that politicians will start competing over who is more loyal to China, rather than who has the better ideas for how the city should be governed, analysts say.
The head of Hong Kong's legislature, the secretaries for justice and security, the customs department, the immigration office, the correctional services department, the police chief and the fire service all issued separate statements praising China's moves.
Hong Kong Secretary for Mainland and Constitutional Affairs Erick Tsang has defined patriotism as "holistic love" for China, including the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party.
The international reaction
British foreign secretary Dominic Raab said on Thursday that proposed changes to Hong Kong's electoral system would further undermine international trust in China.
"This is the latest step by Beijing to hollow out the space for democratic debate in Hong Kong," Raab said.
Ned Price, a spokesperson for the United State's State Department, said earlier "these measures would drastically undermine Hong Kong's democratic institutions."
"[It's] a direct attack on Hong Kong's autonomy, Hong Kong's freedoms and the democratic processes".
The European Union advised China to "carefully consider the political and economic implications on any decision to reform the electoral system of Hong Kong that would undermine fundamental freedoms, political pluralism and democratic principles".
But, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang told reporters the purpose of the changes was to "adhere to and improve" the one country, two systems principle agreed for Hong Kong at the handover.
Vetting and screening of candidates
The measures will alter the size and composition of Hong Kong's legislature and an electoral committee selecting the chief executive in favour of pro-Beijing figures.
The committee will also be given powers to select many city legislators. A new mechanism will be set up to vet candidates and screen election winners' behaviour to make sure only those seen as patriots rule Hong Kong.
China will increase the size of the electoral committee from 1,200 to 1,500, and the legislature from 70 to 90 seats.
A general view shows the closing session of the National Peoples Congress at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Source: AFP
Currently half of the 70 seats in the Legislative Council, known as LegCo, are directly elected, a proportion which will shrink with the extra seats picked by the electoral committee. The other half represents industries, unions, and professions and is largely stacked with pro-Beijing figures.
China had promised universal suffrage as an ultimate goal for Hong Kong in its mini-constitution, the Basic Law.
Critics say the changes to the electoral system move Hong Kong in the opposite direction, leaving the democratic opposition with the most limited space it has ever had since the 1997 handover, if any at all.
It is not clear what shape any future opposition could take and how its message could comply with loyalty requirements.
