Reforms Might Render Elections 'meaningless': Expert

A legal scholar said on Friday that elections in Hong Kong might become “meaningless” if their threshold for participation is set so high that only people preferred by the government can take part.

The comment from University of Hong Kong law professor, Johannes Chan, came after a resolution on reforming Hong Kong’s electoral system was placed on the agenda of the upcoming meeting of the National People's Congress (NPC) – confirming reports of drastic changes to guarantee that only "patriots" be allowed in positions of power.

Sources say the reforms will very likely include district councillors being dropped from the election committee that picks the Chief Executive, the number of election committee members to be increased from the current 1,200 to 1,500, and the number of Legco seats to go up from 70 to 90.

Chan told an RTHK programme that it is important for any election to be fair and open.

“The reason why we need an election is that the candidates can represent the public and different voices. The crux of the matter is not the number of seats but whether or not the election is fair and open,” he said.

“The higher the threshold for anyone to join the election, the more meaningless it will become…. Citizens might become indifferent to the polls as they would be left with no choice but candidates who are preferred by the government.”

But Executive Councillor Ronny Tong said it’s a good thing for the number of Legco seats to be increased as there will be more opportunities for people from a wider political spectrum to join the legislature.

He said it shows it’s unnecessary for people to worry that Beijing would stop members from the pro-democracy camp from taking part in elections.