Last week, the Fourth Session of the 13th National People’s Congress (NPC) passed the Decision on improving the HKSAR’s electoral system (hereafter referred to as “Decision”). Comprising nine articles, the Decision specifies that a candidate qualification review committee of the HKSAR shall be established. The committee shall be responsible for reviewing and confirming the qualification of candidates for the Election Committee, the Chief Executive, and the Legislative Council (LegCo) elections to ensure that they meet all the requirements listed in conformity with the Basic Law, the Law of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) on Safeguarding National Security in the HKSAR, the NPC Standing Committee’s interpretation of Article 104 of the Basic Law, the NPC Standing Committee’s decision on the qualification of HKSAR LegCo members, and provisions of relevant local laws of the HKSAR.
It is a common practice around the world to maintain a qualification for public office review system, complete with a clear mechanism and procedure, according to relevant law.
The HKSAR already has such a review system and mechanism, but it is flawed and has not always been as effective as expected.
The flaws include the lack of a qualification review system and mechanism for vetting candidates for the Election Committee and the Chief Executive Election. Even though there are returning officers assigned by the Electoral Affairs Commission of the SAR government to see if applicants for LegCo election candidacy are qualified according to existing law, their job performances have not been consistent, to say the least. When vetting candidates for the 2016 LegCo Election, not all Returning Officers had an accurate understanding of the assessment criteria, with some being lax in applying them. As a result, advocates of self-determination and even “Hong Kong independence” won seats in the 6th-Term Legislative Council and pursued their separatist agenda throughout their stay in office, beginning with refusal to uphold the Basic Law and swear allegiance to the HKSAR of the People’s Republic of China upon taking office.
Fortunately, the Standing Committee of the 12th NPC acted in time with the interpretation of Article 104 of the Basic Law. The SAR government and the judiciary could then, in accordance with the law, disqualify anti-China lawmakers who violated the oath of allegiance. One can say “better late than never”, but truth is that the tremendous damage those separatists did to Hong Kong by abusing their power would have been prevented had the candidate vetting system worked effectively.
Starting as anti-extradition law amendment bill protests in 2019, the “black revolution” proved a fateful watershed in Hong Kong politics. The yearlong social unrest, full of violence and criminal vandalism, was staged by separatist forces to seize the overall jurisdiction over the HKSAR from the central authorities. By joining that doomed criminal enterprise, the traditional “pan-democrats” abandoned political activities within the confines of Hong Kong law and became allies of the “mutual destruction faction”. The landslide victory of anti-China and anti-Communist Party forces in the 6th District Council Election can also be attributed to the ineffective mechanism in vetting candidates. Those dark chapters in Hong Kong’s constitutional development made people realize that, as long as the flawed candidate qualification review system remains unfixed, anti-China forces could seize control of the 7th-Term Legislative Council.
Apparently, the establishment of a candidate qualification review committee and improvement of relevant local laws are steps to implement “patriots administrating Hong Kong” and prevent subversive forces from taking control of the SAR government
In order to plug this loophole, the National Security Law for implementation in Hong Kong was introduced at the end of June last year, requiring all public officials to swear to uphold the Basic Law and pledge allegiance to the HKSAR of the People’s Republic of China. Moreover, the Standing Committee of the 13th NPC passed a resolution in November last year that clarified the eligibility of the Sixth-Term LegCo members.
This year we are getting closer to the selection of the Election Committee (EC) and the election of a new Chief Executive. The challenging political situation in Hong Kong, compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic and accelerated paradigm shift in global power balance, makes it an urgent task to fix the flawed EC candidate qualification review system as soon as possible.
That is why the 13th National People’s Congress decided at its fourth session that a reliable vetting committee shall be formed to review and confirm the qualification of candidates running for the Election Committee, Chief Executive and LegCo. The Decision also requires the HKSAR to improve the qualification review system and mechanism, to ensure that all candidates meet the requirements listed in the Basic Law, the Law of the PRC on Safeguarding National Security in the HKSAR, the NPC Standing Committee’s interpretation of Article 104 of the Basic Law and its decision on the qualification of HKSAR LegCo members, and relevant local laws in Hong Kong. In short, a high-level body shall be established to ensure election candidate qualification; while relevant local laws in Hong Kong must be amended to plug the loopholes in the existing vetting mechanism.
Apparently, the establishment of a candidate qualification review committee and improvement of relevant local laws are steps to implement “patriots administrating Hong Kong” and prevent subversive forces from taking control of the SAR government. This is a legitimate and fully justified political measure currently adopted by nations worldwide. It is safe to believe the great majority of the 7.5 million Hong Kong population, including approximately 5 million eligible voters, are qualified to run for the Election Committee, the Chief Executive’s office and LegCo seats. The right to stand in democratic elections of Hong Kong permanent residents (voters) who are Chinese citizens will not be affected.
The author is a senior research fellow of China Everbright Holdings.
The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.