Chinese leadership is drastically increasing control on the Hong Kong government by introducing a mechanism to vet candidates’ loyalty to Beijing and reducing the share of directly elected lawmakers.
Zhang Xiaoming, a senior Chinese official, says even one “anti-China” person is too many for Hong Kong’s legislature.
According to the official proposal released on 11 March, an election committee filled with mostly Beijing loyalists will be empowered to nominate candidates for Hong Kong’s governor and legislators in the future.