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 early Monday morning. According to this, around 1.35 million Hong Kong people cast their votes. The election result is expected later on Monday.
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.
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 was 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 until 2047. Since the Security Act was passed, many people have only spoken of “one country, one system”.