BEIJING: Chinese leaders endorsed a sweeping overhaul of Hong Kong's electoral system on Tuesday, creating powers to vet anyone standing for public office and slashing the number of directly elected politicians.
The new measures, which bypassed Hong Kong's legislature and were imposed directly by Beijing, are the latest move aimed at quashing the city's democracy movement after huge protests.
President Xi Jinping signed the new law after it was unanimously approved by China's top decision-making body. One of the most dramatic changes is the introduction of a committee that will vet anyone hoping to enter Hong Kong politics for their patriotism.
The body will include background checks by the territory's new national security apparatus and its decisions cannot be legally challenged.
"The National Security Committee and the National Security Police will provide reports on every single candidate to assist the vetting by the qualification review committee," Tam Yiu-chung, Hong Kong's sole delegate on China's rubber-stamp parliament, told AFP. When Hong Kongers are allowed to vote in limited local elections, they tend to do so overwhelmingly for pro-democracy candidates, something that has rattled authoritarian Beijing.
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