HKFP reports…
“Opposition forces” are smearing Beijing’s warnings about the upcoming “patriots only” Legislative Council elections, Chief Executive John Lee has said.
Speaking at a regular press conference on Tuesday, the chief executive said “anti-China elements” and external forces had attempted to obstruct the Legislative Council (LegCo) polls scheduled on December 7.
Lee’s comment came days after the top Beijing office overseeing Hong Kong affairs warned of “interference and destruction by anti-China forces” in the race.
The Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office (HKMAO) in Beijing issued a commentary on WeChat last Friday. The commentary warned of “false claims” that Beijing had meddled with the elections and that it had a list of “endorsed candidates.”
(In the Standard story, Lee refers to claims of restrictions as ‘soft resistance’. The Global Times piece quotes him as saying that ‘it is only natural for the central authorities to be concerned about and pay attention to the election’.)
It is a fact that Beijing played a role in devising the ‘patriots only’ election system that removed all opposition voices from Legislative and District councils. It is also a fact that, in order to get on the ballot, candidates must be nominated by (pro-government) members from all five ‘sectors’ within the Election Committee, one of which comprises local representatives on national bodies. Whether or not there is a ‘list of endorsed candidates’, everyone on the ballot will have been cleared/approved.
The HKMAO and Hong Kong government seem particularly sensitive about allegations that officials behind the scenes have ordered LegCo’s old guard and some others not to run again. Their vociferousness might just deepen suspicions. But does claiming that Regina Ip was told to stand down pose a threat to the election? It is more probable that most people in Hong Kong are not interested: only 22% of LegCo seats are now returned by popular vote; it is likely that many of the candidates will be unknown to most of the public; and no candidates will actively oppose government policies or demand better ones.
It’s interesting that the CE is criticizing unnamed ‘opposition forces’ for smearing Beijing’s warnings about threats to the election. As if to say that you are insulting the higher authorities if you think their fears of ‘interference and destruction by anti-China forces’ in the election are exaggerated.
Security Secretary Chris Tang weighs in, saying…
…resolute law enforcement action will be taken against illegal acts to allow the upcoming Legislative Council elections to be held in a safe and orderly manner.
He said it could be illegal for people to encourage others to cast a blank ballot or not to vote in the December 7 election.
Tang also said it is against the law for anyone to collude with foreign forces to control, or interfere in, the elections.
“We will carry out all kinds of law enforcement actions, including intelligence gathering, against any illegal act that aims to undermine the safety of the elections,” he said.
What does it say that the authorities have criminalized the act of urging people to boycott an election?
RTHK reports that the CE…
…said on Tuesday that he expects fierce competition in December’s Legislative Council elections and called on everyone in society to throw themselves into the polls.
Lee said he will write to all civil servants on Tuesday to call on them to cast ballots.
He also called on other segments of society to support and participate in the elections, saying appeals would be made to organisations and firms to fulfil their social responsibility.
If the authorities want people to believe that hostile forces aim to sabotage the election, it might help at least to suggest a motive. Why would anyone bother? Otherwise, the whole fuss might be seen as a way to stir up interest in a process many people are ignoring. The only obvious thing that might spoil the election in December is indifference and a low turnout – compared, say, with the 71% turnout in November 2019’s district polls. And what would cause such apathy?
If turnout is low, will the people who claim the CIA paid Honkongers to protest in 2019 say it paid them not to vote in 2025?
“Why would anyone bother?”
For the sheer pleasure of goading toadies into using the word “smearing” in the vaguely-North-Korean sense of “doing something that I think my masters don’t like.”