General election
Turnout in Hong Kong drops to record low
The first elections since the crackdown on the democracy movement took place in Hong Kong. Photo: Wang Shen / XinHua / dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
After Beijing’s crackdown a year and a half ago, many Hong Kong residents lost hope of democratic change. This can now be seen in participation in the parliamentary elections.
Negative record in Hong Kong: In the first parliamentary election since the crackdown on the democracy movement, fewer people than ever in the Chinese special administrative region took part.
The turnout after the polls closed was 30.2 percent, as the Hong Kong newspaper “South China Morning Post” reported. According to this, around 1.35 million Hong Kong people cast their votes. The election result is expected later.
In advance it was expected that many people would stay away from the election because they had given up all hope of democratic changes in the British ex-colony after the crackdown by the central government in Beijing.
End of the democracy movement
One and a half years ago, a security law that was heavily criticized internationally was passed in Hong Kong under pressure from the capital. It led to the fact that the mass protests for more democracy came to an abrupt end and many civil rights activists, protest leaders and politicians ended up in prison. Others went abroad to avoid persecution.
Since July 1, 1997, the former British crown colony has belonged to China again. It was actually supposed to be governed independently according to the principle of “one country, two systems”, as it had been officially established. At that time, the seven million Hong Kong residents also received a promise to enjoy a “high degree of autonomy” and many political freedoms by 2047. But since the Security Act was passed, many have only talked about “one country, one system”.