State Media Explain Why HK People 'support' Overhaul

State media on Wednesday reiterated Beijing's claim that Hong Kong people support the changes planned to the SAR's electoral system – despite next-to-no details being released and no public consultation exercise arranged.

In an article in English entitled "This is why Hong Kong people support improving electoral system", Xinhua News Agency recounts the story of a small cafe owner who it says is more depressed by Hong Kong's "political upheavals" than by the pandemic, which has badly hit the catering sector.

Xinhua explains how the cafe owner, surnamed Lee, was "devastated" by filibustering in Legco at a time when business owners were waiting for anti-epidemic funds to be released.

The article says the council was brought to a standstill by "malicious filibusters and violence by opposition lawmakers".

Despite an ongoing national security court case, Xinhua then accuses sacked University of Hong Kong scholar Benny Tai and others of "colluding with external forces, attempting to rig the seventh-term Legco election and assisting candidates advocating 'mutual destruction' to grab more than half the seats through electoral loopholes".

As further evidence of the Hong Kong people's backing for the electoral changes, the article also quotes a teacher in Eastern District as complaining that campuses have been "maliciously politicised" and calling for a "stable environment for education".

"The voice of the Hong Kong people was heard," Xinhua writes, referring to the "draft decision" on electoral changes which is being put to the National People's Congress.

"The decision received widespread support," the news agency says.

"Various sectors in Hong Kong have agreed that the improvement in the electoral system will enable Hong Kong to right the wrongs and usher in a new, brighter phase," the article adds, with a single quote from the Hong Kong Commerce and Industry Associations to back up this assertion.