According to people familiar with the proposal, Chinese leaders plan to curb the influence of Hong Kong opposition groups that select the city’s top official, take seats from pro-democracy politicians, and hand them over to pro-Beijing loyalists.
At an annual legislative session in March, Chinese lawmakers are expected to vote on proposed changes to the composition of a 1,200-member committee that elects Hong Kong’s CEO, the people said.
The revisions would drastically reduce or possibly eliminate the 117 seats allocated to Hong Kong district councilors, a bloc now dominated by opposition groups, they said. These seats would be awarded to some of the more than 200 Hong Kong-resident members of China’s highest political advisory body, the China People’s Political Consultative Conference, the people said.
The plan is part of sweeping changes proposed by Beijing Office Chief of Hong Kong Affairs, Xia Baolong, in a speech on Monday saying that Hong Kong’s executive, legislature and judiciary were “ real patriots’. In his first public address after taking office in early 2020, Mr. Xia anyone who opposes the governments of China or Hong Kong “destroyers” who should not be able to influence in the future.
Mr. Xia has not specified any proposed electoral change, but those familiar with the plans said details of the legislation will be finalized ahead of the March 5 opening of the National People’s Congress, the Chinese legislature. Chief Executive Carrie Lam, who has a low public approval score, has not said whether she plans to run for a second five-year term next year.