Pro-Beijing candidate wins Hong Kong election

HONG KONG—Pro-Beijing candidate Carrie Lam won election to Hong Kong’s top leadership post Sunday, a sign of China’s continued encroachment on the former British colony. While Lam’s ties to Beijing make her unpopular with democratic activists, it was her method of election that generated protests over the weekend.

Just 1,194 people participated in Sunday’s chief executive election, the first since the 2014 Umbrella Movement protests that swept tens of thousands of people into the streets to demand universal suffrage. Chinese authorities refused, and on Sunday the Hong Kong people once again watched from the outside as representatives of trade and industry groups, lawmakers, and members of China’s parliament decided who would run Hong Kong for the next five years.

Across the street from the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, where the election committee met, 200 people gathered to protest, holding banners that read “Sham election” and “Our own government, our own choice.” Police officers set up barricades and formed a human chain to block protesters from reaching the building.

“I’m a Hongkonger!” the protesters chanted, led by pro-democracy lawmaker Leung “Long Hair” Kwok-hung. Leung and six other pan-democratic legislators, who are part of the election committee, joined in the march and turned in blank votes to protest the election system.

May Yip, a 68-year-old protester, held a yellow umbrella, a symbol of the Umbrella Movement.

“I don’t want the small-circle election,” she said, referring to the election committee. “In today’s election, only 1,200 people are qualified to vote. Why don’t I get a vote? Am I a third-class citizen?”

Lam, the government’s former No. 2 official and Beijing’s favored candidate, will replace current leader Leung Chun-ying, who is highly unpopular because of his close relationship with Beijing. Lam also lacks popular support but was able to win 777 of the total votes because many of the electors also maintain close ties to China. Former financial secretary John Tsang, who had the highest amount of public support, received 365 votes.

After her win, Lam said she would work to “heal the divide” in Hong Kong by tapping “the forces of our young people.” But one day later, police called leaders of the 2014 protests to announce they would be charged with public nuisance and could face up to seven years in prison. Lam claims she is not responsible for the crackdown on protest leaders and added she would not interfere with the rule of law.

Lam faces a hard task ahead, in part because this year marks the 20th anniversary of Hong Kong’s handover. In the 1997 Sino-British agreement, China pledged to give Hong Kong a high degree of autonomy for 50 years before fully reuniting with China. Many feel China has betrayed its promise by intervening in Hong Kong’s democratic process, freedom of press, and local governance.

Avery Ng, chairman of the League of Social Democrats, believes only a truly democratic system can fix the problems plaguing Hong Kong.

“It’s a so-called election,” said Ng, 40. “No matter who is elected, it can’t solve the tension in Hong Kong, such as poverty, youth problems, and housing. We need a democratically elected chief executive to address these issues.”