HONG KONG (Reuters) – Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam said on Monday that China’s planned changes to the electoral system could further delay a vote for the city’s legislature, but she was still uncertain on the timing. China’s rubber-stamp parliament, the National People’s Congress (NPC), is expected to approve on Thursday a resolution that will reduce democratic representation in Hong Kong institutions and vet any candidates for “patriotism”. The electoral committee will also be given powers to select many of the legislators. The vote was initially scheduled for Sept. 2020, but delayed for at least a year, with the government citing the coronavirus. Critics have decried Beijing’s moves as the end of the road for democratic dreams in Hong Kong, whose mini-constitution states universal suffrage as its goal.

Source: Egypt Independent March 08, 2021 05:26 UTC