taz Talk meets Han Sen’s Asiatalk: Hong Kong’s "patriotic" elections
How Beijing controls the Hong Kong elections after the democracy movement was crushed. Discussion with labor activist Au Loong-Yu.
A huge chinese flag is held up by "patriotic" people. Foto: Tyrone Siu/Reuters
When Hong Kong’s pro-Beijing government wanted to introduce an extradition treaty in 2019, which would have undermined the autonomy of the city, hundreds of thousands of people protested peacefully and demanded democratic reforms instead.
The stubbornness of the city’s government, which was out of touch with the aspirations of the people but backed by Beijing, led to an escalating revolt.
The district council elections in November 2019 saw a landslide victory for the democratic camp, but soon protests were banned under the pretext of fighting the pandemic.
A national security law imposed by Beijing led to the prosecution of opposition politicians, activists, publishers and trade unionsts. The elections for the legistlative council were postponed until the election law was changed.
The elections on December 19th will now have less directly elected seats and only preselected candidates who gave a pledge of allegiance towards the government in Beijing can run, while the traditional democratic forces call for a boycott.
Discussion with taz blogger ("China Watch"), analyst and labor activist Au Loong-Yu. He is the author of the book "Hong Kong in revolt" about the recent protest movements in the city. In January 2021 he moved into exile in London, from where he observes the developments in Hong Kong and China.
He shares his views and analyses with Sven Hansen, Asia-editor of taz and host of Han Sen’s Asiatalk.
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