Hong Kong File Photo: VCG
After a two-day meeting of the Standing Committee of China’s top legislative body and rounds of discussions, Chinese top lawmakers have unanimously approved the draft of the Hong Kong electoral reform plan, with revised measures for electing the Hong Kong chief executive and the formation of the Legislative Council, which is seen as another major step in tackling the loopholes in the city’s governance structure.
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday signed presidential orders to promulgate the Hong Kong electoral reform plan.
Li Zhanshu, chairman of the NPC Standing Committee, presided over the first plenary meeting of the session on Monday afternoon, which was attended by 167 members of the NPC Standing Committee.
During this year's two sessions at the beginning of the March, a draft decision to improve the electoral system of Hong Kong was submitted to the country's top legislature, clarifying a series of targets for the electoral system overhaul, indicating the major principles to be followed during the reform process.
The goal of the overhaul is to make sure that the bodies of power in Hong Kong are run by patriots. The decision was overwhelmingly approved on March 11 at the closing of the two sessions, and a detailed overhaul plan is scheduled to be unveiled by the end of March, following which local authorities in Hong Kong will begin amending local laws.
Due to the urgency of the matter, it took less than 20 days from the decision adopted on March 11 to the detailed plan being released, which also showed that the central government paid great attention to Hong Kong electoral reform and had carried out a lot of preparation work before the amendment, some Chinese experts said.
“From the top level, it provides a clear and defined authoritative indication for local law amendment, and the HKSAR government can revise the main text of the relevant laws and their auxiliaries accordingly,” Tian Feilong, an associate professor at Beihang University, told the Global Times on Tuesday.
The Global Times had reported that the detailed measures for Hong Kong electoral reform could come out in late March, given the urgency and complexity of the next phase of local law amendment in Hong Kong, and local authorities are expected to finalize the local law amendments by the end of May as there are three major local elections to be held in the next 12 months.
Since the decision to improve the electoral system for Hong Kong was adopted by the top legislature on March 11, some Western countries have not given up the fantasy of pressuring China by playing the“Hong Kong card,” as some countries like the UK and Western-led blocs like G7 and EU have all come up with statements stigmatizing the overhaul.
China firmly believes that the electoral reform and the earlier national security law for Hong Kong, as well as other potential reforms that could take place in the future, are "the right things to do and must be done," whether the West likes them or not, analysts said.
“Under external pressure, the central government has never shown any sign of retreating, but will adhere to its principles while keep on fighting,” Tian said, noting that the so-called sanctions imposed by some Western countries are the last desperate struggle, which will turn out to be meaningless.