Hong Kong’s ‘patriots-only’ Legco free of fiery past. But have lawmakers become ‘yes men’?

Analysts say line ‘unclear’ for lawmakers trying to keep government in check, while also cooperating in overhauled legislature

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Published: 8:30am, 6 Aug 2024Updated: 10:22am, 6 Aug 2024

When Hong Kong lawmakers took just 12 days in March to approve a domestic national security law that had stalled for more than two decades, it showed how much had changed in the Legislative Council.

Gone were the heated verbal clashes, filibusters, quorum calls and occasional chaos of the not-too-distant past.

Instead, Legco has become a model of harmony and constructive exchange, with city authorities and lawmakers alike lauding the new efficiency since Beijing overhauled the electoral system in 2021 to ensure that only “patriots” held political power.

But more than halfway into the first four-year term of the revamped legislature, some experts and politicians have highlighted challenges beneath that calm: a perceived weakening of Legco’s check-and-balance function, declining public interest in the business of the legislature and lawmakers’ persistent difficulty in connecting with residents.

Lau Siu-kai, long a pro-establishment commentator on political affairs in the city, said the lawmakers elected under the “patriots-only” system were still exploring how to strike the right balance.

A consultant at the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macau Studies, a semi-official think tank, he said: “Now that they have moved away from confrontation, they are still looking into how to keep the government in check, while also cooperating with it. But the line remains unclear to all.”

Lawmakers took just 12 days in March to approve the Safeguarding National Security Bill. Photo: Elson Li