Hong Kong leader postpones elections, further eroding political freedoms
HONG KONG — After disqualifying a dozen pro-democracy candidates, the Hong Kong government said Friday it would delay legislative council elections for a year because of the coronavirus pandemic, undermining one of the few partially democratic institutions left in the Chinese territory.
Chief Executive Carrie Lam said in a news conference that she was invoking emergency powers to postpone the vote — unprecedented in the city’s political history since its handover from Britain to China in 1997. Postponing the election, she said, was the most “difficult decision” she has had to make since the onset of the virus here in January.
The makeup of the legislature in the interim, Lam said, will be decided by Beijing.
“We have made the decision to postpone the election for one year,” Lam said, after spending half an hour laying out her government’s response to the pandemic and the potential health risks of holding the vote. Because of the pandemic, “we would not be able to meet the requirements of an open and fair election,” she said.
In response to reporters’ questions, she added: “There is absolutely no political agenda.” The postponement, Lam said, was supported by Beijing since it is in the “public interest.”
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