China announced at its biggest political meeting that it will overhaul Hong Kong’s electoral system to ensure “patriots” are in charge, a sign that the government will no longer tolerate dissent in the city.
The reform comes after a crackdown and tightened control of Hong Kong.
A draft decision will be discussed during the National People’s Congress (NPC), which will run for a week.
Thousands of lawmakers have gathered for the meeting in Beijing.
Besides the Hong Kong decision, the rubber-stamp parliament is expected to also discuss and approve economic growth targets and environmental policies from the central government.
NPC vice-chairman Wang Chen announced that several annexes in Hong Kong’s Basic Law – the city’s mini-constitution – would need to be revised.
These would mean revising the rules governing the election of the chief executive and the Legislative Council elections.
Mr. Wang added that loopholes in Hong Kong’s electoral system had allowed opposition activists to advocate for the city’s independence.
He added that these risks needed to be removed, adding that democratic electoral systems with Hong Kong characteristics need to be established.
