China has approved a plan to make sure "patriots" who are friendly to China will runHong Kong - It comes as Beijing tightens its grip on the country and continues to crack down on dissidents.
- A state media report said the changes would 'ensure the administration of Hong Kong by Hong Kong people with patriots as the main body.'
China has approved a plan to make sure "patriots" who are friendly to China will run Hong Kong as it tightens its grip on the country and cracks down on dissidents.
The National People's Congress on Thursday passed a resolution which will dramatically change Hong Kong's electoral system, allowing Beijing to install favored candidates and quash opposition voices.
A state media report of the draft resolution said that the changes would "ensure the administration of Hong Kong by Hong Kong people with patriots as the main body," according to Xinhua News Agency, which is a partially state-owned Chinese media outlet.
The measures are designed to reduce the number of opposition lawmakers in Hong Kong's legislature and increase the number of officials who are friendly to China.
Hong Kong's legislative council will be expanded from 70 members to 90, whose members will be elected through elections and by the Election Committee, Xinhua News Agency reported.
The changes will also see the introduction of a "candidate review qualification committee" which would in effect allow Beijing to veto opposition candidates.
The South China Morning Post also reported that 117 seats elected by Hong Kong's district councilors, which mostly comprise members of the opposition, will also be scrapped, in a further measure that to reduce the opposition's influence.
China announced the plans last week during the National People's Conference, an annual parliamentary meeting attended by thousands of Chinese lawmakers.
Wang Chen, vice-chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, said then that the country should be governed by people who gave "sincere support for the motherland to resume its sovereignty over Hong Kong," Insider reported.
Chen also said the pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong was illegitimate and backed by foreign powers which had "blatantly supported and encouraged anti-Chinese sentiments in Hong Kong while providing them with an umbrella of protection."
The resolution comes as part of a wider crackdown by Beijing on democracy in Hong Kong, which had enjoyed semi-independence from mainland China for decades.
Beijing last year imposed a security law which allows it to maintain a police presence in the city, and hundreds of pro-democracy protestors have been arrested since.
Dozens more activists were arrested last week, including some of the movement's most high-profile figures. Hong Kong police said the 47 individuals had been charged with a "conspiracy to commit subversion."