China’s central government may be willing to ignore international protests over the crackdown on Hong Kong, as further action is being weighed to tighten control of the city, an analyst told CNBC on Monday.
Last week, the media, including Reuters and the South China Morning Post, reported that Beijing could consider changes to Hong Kong’s electoral system, which could limit pro-democracy politicians and prevent them from running in local elections.
The reports came as Xia Baolong, director of the Hong Kong and Macao Business Office of the State Council of China, said in a Mandarin statement that Hong Kong should be governed by patriots who do not violate national security law or challenges the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party, according to a CNBC translation.
Xia said one of the reasons Hong Kong saw an anti-China movement was that the city’s major institutions were not fully run by patriots. One way to ensure that only the most loyal to China governs Hong Kong is to improve the city’s electoral system by closing relevant legal loopholes, he added.
This photo taken on December 19, 2017 shows the Chinese (top) and Hong Kong flags flying in Hong Kong.
Anthony Wallace | AFP | Getty Images
John Marrett, a senior analyst at The Economist Intelligence Unit, said Beijing had already made several moves to thwart opposition in Hong Kong.
“It is noteworthy that I go much further in proposing these electoral reforms, the details of which we have not yet seen,” he told CNBC Street Signs Asia on Monday.
“But it says something about their fears of a subsequent resurgence of political instability, social unrest in the city and talks about their lack of concern about international cries for Hong Kong,” he added.
Hong Kong is a former British colony that returned to Chinese rule in 1997. The city is governed by a “one country, two systems” principle that gives it greater autonomy than other mainland Chinese cities, including limited electoral rights.
The Hong Kong government has banned at least 12 pro-democracy candidates from running in the city’s legislative elections – which was postponed for a year until September 2021. The government cited the pandemic as a reason for the delay.
In addition, four opposition lawmakers were fired from the Hong Kong Legislative Council in November last year – prompting others to resign in protest, Reuters reported.