179 ‘patriots’ appointed to Hong Kong’s district councils, including dozens of defeated candidates from 2019 poll
- Many are leaders of pro-Beijing community groups and members of political advisory bodies under Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference
- Forty-nine appointees, or 27 per cent, ran in the previous municipal-body election in 2019 and lost
Tuesday’s announcement came two days after a record low 27.54 per cent of eligible voters cast ballots for 88 directly elected seats, a turnout the city leader defended as “good” while also vowing that the revamped municipal bodies would become “more constructive”.
The rest of the 470 seats on the 18 district councils will be taken up by 27 ex officio members and 176 residents chosen by three area committees stacked with Beijing loyalists.
No opposition politicians secured enough backing to run in the election overhauled by Beijing to ensure only “patriots” could govern.
A closer look at the list of the 179 government appointees found that many were leaders of pro-Beijing community groups and members of groups under the country’s top political advisory body, the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).
Liu Yu-hin, for instance, is a member of Gansu province’s CPPCC committee, while Paul Au Chi-on sits on the one for Foshan city.
