Hong Kong’s 470 district councillors have sworn allegiance to the city and its mini-constitution and assumed their positions on the local councils, with the city’s leader John Lee saying they must support the legislation of Hong Kong’s own security law, known locally as Article 23.
“As members of district governance, all of you will take an oath to uphold the Basic Law. You must work together to support the legislation of Article 23, to support the government in fulfilling its constitutional responsibility,” Lee said in Cantonese during the oath taking ceremony on Monday.
Lee outlined four requirements for the incoming district councillors in total: upholding the Basic Law and bearing allegiance to the government; ensuring communication between the government and the people; implementing the principle of “patriots governing Hong Kong”; and safeguarding national security.
Plans to overhaul the District Council elections were unveiled in May 2023 to ensure only “patriots” were elected, following a pro-democracy landslide at the last polls in 2019.
The number of seats chosen democratically by the public were slashed from 452 to 88 – reducing the power of public votes to a fifth. The rest are to be chosen by the city’s leader and government-appointed committees.
Constituency boundaries were redrawn, the opposition were shut out, voting hours were slashed by an hour, and each local council is to be chaired by a government official, similar to colonial-era arrangements. All candidates undergo national security vetting to ensure patriotism.
Among the 470 councillors, only 88 were elected by public vote on December 10, the first “patriots-only” district-level elections that resulted in a record low voter turnout and saw the opposition effectively barred from running.
Additionally, 176 members were voted for by members of three government-appointed committees, which also decided who was able to run. Over 90 per cent of the elected district councillors sat on those committees.
The remaining 179 members were directly appointed by Chief Executive Lee.
“The new term of the District Council will not be politicised, it will no longer engage in subversion and destruction, and it will not betray Hong Kong or the nation, ” Lee said on Monday.
In 2019, pan-democrats saw a landslide victory in the District Council elections held amid large-scale protests and unrest. Many of the district councillors were subsequently disqualified after government oaths they took were determined to be invalid.
The government has introduced new guidelines for the new term of district councillors, with “stirring up social conflicts” and making improper remarks examples of misconduct that could see them investigated.
The guidelines spell out specific expectations, requiring district councillors to set up an office within their first three months and ensuring those offices are open for no less than 40 hours per week. At least four hours must fall on weekday evenings, weekends and public holidays.
Article 23
Article 23 of the Basic Law stipulates that the government shall enact laws on its own to prohibit acts of treason, secession, sedition and subversion against Beijing. Its legislation failed in 2003 following mass protests and it remained taboo until after the onset of the separate, Beijing-imposed security law in 2020. Pro-democracy advocates fear it could have a negative effect on civil liberties but the authorities say there is a constitutional duty to ratify it.
Lee said during last year’s Policy Address that legislation of Article 23 would be completed in 2024, with authorities citing a need to tackle “modern-day espionage” and “internet loopholes.”
Lee said during a press conference late last October that major protests against Article 23 in 2003 had occurred because of a failure to understand the legislation.
See also: What is Article 23? Hong Kong’s homegrown security law finds itself back in the spotlight
“We did not succeed in 2003. I would say this was because of, in some way, not being able to make people understand very properly what Article 23 can do for them in a positive way. I think after the 2019 harm and troubles, people understand how national security is an important factor for stability, for continuing our normal day-to-day life,” he said.
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