Beijing wary as young Hong Kong goes to polls
Hong Kong: Hong Kong goes to the polls Sunday in an election which for the first time sees young independence activists calling for a complete break from China running for office. The vote for members of the Legislative Council — Hong Kong’s lawmaking body — is the most important election since major pro-democracy rallies brought parts of the semi-autonomous city to a standstill in 2014, calling for political reforms. Polls opened early Sunday morning and will close at 10:30 pm (0230 GMT) with vote counting taking place overnight.
The election comes as some in Hong Kong grow increasingly concerned that Beijing is tightening its grip in a range of areas, from politics to media and education. Those fears were exacerbated when five Hong Kong booksellers known for salacious titles about leading Beijing politicians disappeared at the end of last year, resurfacing in detention on the mainland. That fuelled the fire of the “localist” movement, which grew out of the failure of the 2014 rallies to win concessions on political reform from Beijing and is seeking much more distance from China.
Now some young campaigners are demanding outright independence, others the chance for Hong Kong to determine its own future in a referendum. Young Hong Kong independence activists have stood for the first time in a city-wide legislative elections. They were fighting for se Before the vote, some polls forecast victories for the young independence activists, but that could split the vote for the pro-democracy camp -- and end up playing into the hands of pro-Beijing parties. Most established pro-democracy politicians do not support the notion of independence and may lose seats to voters who now favour more radical new groups.
If the democrats lose just four seats overall, they will forfeit the one-third voting bloc they need to veto bills, stacking the already skewed legislature even more in favour of Beijing. The more strident independence activists — slammed by Beijing and Hong Kong authorities as acting illegally — were banned by the government from running in Sunday’s election, a move that sparked anger. A 30-year-old voter who gave her name as Sandy said she favoured independence. “This is a very critical time,” she said.
