{ "id": "IN10564", "type": "CRS Insight", "typeId": "INSIGHTS", "number": "IN10564", "active": false, "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "versions": [ { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 455598, "date": "2016-09-06", "retrieved": "2017-04-21T15:15:28.429110", "title": "Hong Kong\u2019s 2016 Legislative Council Elections", "summary": "A record 2.2 million (58%) of Hong Kong\u2019s eligible voters voted on September 4, 2016, to select the 70 members of the 6th Legislative Council (Legco). Thirty pro-democracy candidates won seats, including six from new political parties formed following 2014 pro-democracy protests. Although pro-establishment candidates won a majority of the seats, pro-democracy candidates increased their numbers by three, winning enough seats to play a role in possible governance reforms. \nThe U.S.-Hong Kong Policy Act of 1992 (P.L. 102-383) commits the United States to treat the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) differently from the People\u2019s Republic of China (PRC, or China) with respect to the application of U.S. law so long as the HKSAR remains \u201dsufficiently autonomous\u201d to justify such treatment. The act also states, \u201cSupport for democratization is a fundamental principle of United States foreign policy. As such, it naturally applies to United States policy toward Hong Kong.\u201d \nIn 1990, China\u2019s National People\u2019s Congress passed the Basic Law establishing the HKSAR. The Basic Law states \u201cthe ultimate aim\u201d is the election of Hong Kong\u2019s Chief Executive and \u201call the members of the Legislative Council\u201d by universal suffrage \u201cin accordance with the principle of gradual and orderly progress.\u201d The Basic Law also stipulates that any proposal to amend the Basic Law\u2014including amendments that would change the election system for the Chief Executive or Legco\u2014must be approved by at least two-thirds of all Legco members. With 30 (43%) of Legco\u2019s 70 seats, the support of some pro-democracy Legco members will be necessary for any proposed changes to the Basic Law to be adopted. \nIt remains to be seen how the election results will affect Legco\u2019s relations with the PRC and HKSAR government. Hong Kong Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying stated he looked forward to \u201ccloser collaboration with all Legco members.\u201d A PRC spokesperson reportedly said, \u201cWe firmly oppose any activity relating to Hong Kong independence in any form, inside or outside the Legislative Council, and firmly support the Hong Kong government to impose punishment in accordance with the law.\u201d\n\nLegco\u2019s Changing Politics\nLegco currently consists of 70 members, half elected by universal suffrage in five \u201cgeographical constituencies\u201d and half selected by limited suffrage in 29 \u201cfunctional constituencies\u201d that consist of representatives of selected professional, economic, or social interest groups Most previous Legco members could be divided into two loose coalitions\u2014\u201cpan democrats\u201d and \u201cpro-establishment\u201d members. \u201cPan-democrats\u201d support a high degree of autonomy for Hong Kong and a more rapid transition to democracy. The \u201cpro-establishment\u201d coalition supports closer coordination with the PRC and HKSAR governments, and prefers a more gradual adoption of universal suffrage. The functional constituencies have generally selected pro-establishment candidates, while the geographical constituencies have elected more pan-democrats. \nIn June 2015, the pan-democrats voted as a block against reforms that would have allowed the election of the Chief Executive by universal suffrage, in part because the reforms also granted the PRC government the power to select the candidates (see CRS Insight IN10298, Hong Kong\u2019s Legislative Council Votes Down Chief Executive Election Reform).\nFor the first time several new political parties that formed following the 2014 pro-democracy demonstrations participated in the Legco elections. Most of the new political parties advocate greater autonomy for Hong Kong, including some that support Hong Kong\u2019s independence from China. Six candidates from these new political parties were elected in geographical constituencies, and are expected to cooperate with the 24 pan-democrats. \nNomination Controversy\nThe election was also controversial because Hong Kong\u2019s Electoral Affairs Commission (EAC) made some last minute changes in the nomination process and disqualified seven candidates, which some observers saw as an attempt to influence the election\u2019s outcome. \nIn an unprecedented action, the EAC requested that all Legco candidates sign a new \u201cConfirmation Form\u201d pledging they \u201cwill uphold the Basic Law and pledge allegiance to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.\u201d The new form the Basic Law\u2019s references to the PRC\u2019s \u201cinalienable\u201d sovereignty over Hong Kong. Most of the pan-democrats and some of the new party candidates refused to submit the \u201cConfirmation Form,\u201d asserting that doing so was not required by Hong Kong law. \nAfter the nomination period was over, the EAC disqualified seven candidates\u2014most of them associated with new political parties advocating greater Hong Kong autonomy or independence\u2014including some that had submitted the Confirmation Form. In addition, the EAC censored text in some candidates\u2019 mailings to voters that referred to Hong Kong\u2019s independence from China. The disqualification of candidates and censorship of campaign literature were portrayed by some Hong Kong commentators as violations of freedom of speech and/or an attempt to influence the outcome of the elections. The HKSAR government defended the EAC\u2019s decision as being in accordance with the Basic Law and Hong Kong election ordnances.\nThese actions raised concerns among some Hong Kong voters about the EAC\u2019s ability to run free and fair elections. On election day, some Hong Kong voters posted warnings on social media urging voters to ensure that their ballots were clearly marked and undamaged expressing fear that the EAC officials could invalidate the ballots. Also, an unusually large number of people volunteered to be ballot counting monitors, reportedly expressing fears that EAC officials could attempt to skew the election results in favor of pro-establishment candidates.\nIssues for Congress\nWhile the election of more pro-democracy candidates is significant, Hong Kong\u2019s 2016 Legco elections also raise some concerns about the future of Hong Kong. New screening procedures for Legco candidates, such the introduction of the Confirmation Form and the disqualification of candidates, may call into question the HKSAR government\u2019s stated commitment to democratization and free and fair elections. The results, however, would appear to indicate that the Hong Kong voters want to preserve Hong Kong\u2019s autonomy and support democratic reforms. How the PRC and HKSAR government respond to the Legco elections and interact with the 6th Legco are factors that Congress may consider when overseeing implementation of U.S.-Hong Policy Act, including provisions that grant Hong Kong different treatment from China and/or support democratization in Hong Kong.", "type": "CRS Insight", "typeId": "INSIGHTS", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/IN10564", "sha1": "0862ef9743a6464ed59f33a153139b82c679a5bb", "filename": "files/20160906_IN10564_0862ef9743a6464ed59f33a153139b82c679a5bb.html", "images": null } ], "topics": [] } ], "topics": [ "CRS Insights" ] }