LegCo election major step in democracy with Hong Kong characteristics: experts

HONG KONG -- The just-concluded seventh-term Legislative Council (LegCo) election of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) marks an important step in developing a democratic system with Hong Kong characteristics and fits Hong Kong's reality, experts have said.

As a candidate running for the legal functional constituency in the LegCo election, Louis Chen, also secretary general of the Hong Kong Legal Exchange Foundation, believes that the election laid a solid foundation and opened a new chapter for sound governance in Hong Kong, as it demonstrated high-quality, benign and substantive democracy.

Liang Haiming, a Hong Kong economist and chairman of China Silk Road iValley Research Institute, believes that newly-elected lawmakers can solve the various conflicts and problems in Hong Kong, improving people's livelihood.

"Hong Kong will be more competitive and shine brighter as the 'Pearl of the East,'" Liang said.

Strength of diversity

The HKSAR on Dec. 20 unveiled its new lawmaker lineup after successfully holding its first legislative election under an improved electoral system, a major step towards getting rid of past political quagmire and fast-tracking solutions to Hong Kong's deep-seated problems.

Ninety elected lawmakers, standing out from a total of 153 candidates from different backgrounds and across the political spectrum, will sit on the seventh-term LegCo of the HKSAR.

The improved electoral system features the characteristics of broad representation, political inclusiveness, balanced participation and fair competition.

"Candidates and winners in this election are from different backgrounds and across the widest political spectrum," said Li Huan, associate research professor of the Institute of Hong Kong and Macao Studies at the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations, noting that this demonstrates the superiority and progressiveness of the election.

Li was echoed by Liang, who believed that the newly-elected lawmakers are what the Hong Kong people have been looking for, as they are a group of patriots that include elites and representatives from all walks of life, representing the interests of all people in Hong Kong.

Western lies defeated

Accusations from certain Western countries to vilify the just-concluded LegCo election were extremely weak and absurd in the experts' eyes.

Tian Feilong, associate professor with the Law School of Beihang University and director of the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macao Studies, pointed out that the improved electoral system only requires candidates to be patriotic, a basic requirement that is similar to other regions in the world, refuting the allegations saying that this election is only about "uniformity."

"Certain people with ulterior motives smeared the election, looking at Hong Kong in a twisted way," Tian said.

Tian said that these allegations laid bare the anti-China forces' double standards and their attempts to preserve their hegemony, as well as their unwillingness to face and accept the reality of the development of Hong Kong's democracy under the "one country, two systems" principle.

The implementation of the improved electoral system has defeated their lies, and their attempts to contain China's development and undermine the HKSAR's democracy will inevitably fail, Tian said.