(UTVNEWS | COLOMBO) – China has passed several changes to Hong Kong’s electoral rules which will tighten its control over the city, state media has said.
The aim of the reforms is to ensure that only “patriotic” figures can run for positions of power.
The changes mean that prospective MPs will first be vetted for their loyalty to the mainland.
Critics warn it will mean the end of democracy, as it removes all opposition from the city parliament.
Beijing’s rubber-stamp parliament first approved the plan during the National People’s Congress (NPC) meetings earlier in March.
On Tuesday, Chinese state media reported that the country’s top decision-making body, the NPC Standing Committee, voted unanimously to pass it. This amends the annexes of Hong Kong’s mini-constitution, the Basic Law.
