It will be the first election since China implemented the national security law, which restricts anti-establishment activities in Hong Kong. It will be a test of whether Hong Kong's freedom and democracy will be protected.
Hong Kong has begun accepting candidacy applications for the Legislative Council election in September. Half of the 70 seats will be directly elected by the people, and the other half will be elected by representatives of industries. Pro-Chinese candidates will have the upper hand in the latter portion, reflecting the opinions of business circles with close ties to China.
In the election held four years ago, the pro-democracy side fell short of a majority with a total of 30 seats. In this election, they aim to win a majority of votes to demonstrate the public's will to resist China's forceful intervention. To avoid dispersing their supporters' votes, they conducted preliminary elections in advance to narrow down candidates.
The number of registered voters has reached a record high of 4.47 million. Some 610,000 people participated in the primaries, far more than the pro-democracy side had expected. This shows the strong interest of residents and their will to protest against the national security law.
It is worrisome that China may refuse to allow democratic candidates to run in the election or deprive them of their parliamentary qualifications after being elected, using violations of the national security law as a pretext to do so. The authorities have launched an investigation into the alleged subversion of the government, alleging that the pro-democracy side is seeking to "regain the right to govern Hong Kong."
The meaning of "division of the nation" and "subversion of the government" prohibited by the national security law is ambiguous. Bylaws under the law allow police to search without a warrant and delete online information. There is no doubt that campaigns by the pro-democracy side will be severely restricted.
The Hong Kong Basic Law requires the Hong Kong government to enact laws banning anti-establishment activities against China. It is unreasonable for China to enact the security law directly just because China sees no prospect for Hong Kong to pass such legislation itself.
In response to a joint statement issued by 27 countries, including Japan and Britain, calling for review of the national security law and prevention of human rights violations toward Hong Kong residents, China rejected it as "interference in domestic affairs under the pretext of human rights."
Respect for human rights and fundamental freedom is a universal concept stipulated in the Charter of the United Nations. The 1993 Vienna Declaration also stated that "the promotion and protection of all human rights is a legitimate concern of the international community." China's unilateral assertion is incomprehensible.
In the one-party dictatorship of China, laws have been used as a tool to enforce the rule of the Communist Party. In mainland China, the crackdown on human rights lawyers and reformist intellectuals has intensified, resulting in the frequent occurrence of unjust long-term detention and surveillance.
The current state of mainland China is a mirror of what Hong Kong will look like tomorrow. Japan, the United States and European countries should continue to emphasize the importance of human rights.
-- The original Japanese article appeared in The Yomiuri Shimbun on July 24, 2020.
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