Hong Kong voters stay away from patriots-only election in rejection of Beijings control

An hour before polls closed, the turnout was just shy of 30 percent, less than half the percentage that voted in the 2019 local elections. It appeared to be a repudiation not only of the overwhelmingly pro-China candidates, but also of Beijing's re-engineering of the territory. Ahead of the vote, Hong Kong authorities characterized casting a ballot as a vote of confidence in the political system and took unprecedented steps to boost participation after crushing the pro-democracy opposition.

"The call for a boycott as a solid form of political mobilization has taken effect, showing the will of the people [and] how angry they are at the regime," said Ted Hui, a former elected lawmaker now living in exile in Australia.

Sunday's vote will determine the makeup of Hong Kong's legislature. Only a portion of the body has ever been directly elected, but until recently, it nonetheless acted as a check on the Hong Kong government. The legislative elections were scheduled for 2020 but postponed for 18 months, with authorities citing the pandemic.

During the delay, every prominent opposition leader was either jailed, under a new national security law that effectively criminalized dissent, or fled into exile. Beijing rewrote the electoral rules, reducing the number of directly elected seats from 35 to just 20. Apple Daily, the popular pro-democracy newspaper, shut down this year under government pressure.

The vote served as the first referendum on Hong Kong's new, more authoritarian direction under Beijing's tightened grip. Refusing to show up to vote on Sunday was one of the last ways Hong Kong residents could express their political will.

"Not participating in the government elections has already sent a strong political message in Hong Kong," said Eric Lai, a legal and political analyst at the Georgetown Center for Asian Law.

Several registered voters said they found the exercise futile, with no candidate they wanted to vote for.

"I find no representation in the election," said Michael, 28, who gave only his first name, fearing repercussions for boycotting the vote. His preferred candidate, Gwyneth Ho, is one of dozens in jail for participating in a primary election for the pro-democracy camp. "It is irrelevant."

Of the more than 1 million who voted, many were seniors, traditionally a core demographic for the city's pro-Beijing camp. Francis Mok, 81, who cast his vote in North Point Community Hall, said he supports the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong, Hong Kong's largest pro-Beijing party. He said he believes they are a force for stability.

Ginger Leung, 65, said she rejected the social unrest of 2019. She said she voted Sunday because she "realized the need to love the country in order to maintain stable lives."

The most recent election in Hong Kong before Sunday's vote was held at the end of 2019, after months of protests against Beijing's increased control over the territory. More than 71 percent of registered voters cast ballots in district council races - some waited hours as lines snaked around buildings - granting the pro-democracy opposition a historic landslide win.

Opposition activists, hoping to build on that success, held a primary vote in 2020 to select the best candidates for the legislative council elections. More than 600,000 voted; the result was a slate of radical pro-democracy candidates who advocated for Hong Kong to regain more autonomy from Beijing. Most of the candidates have been detained since February and denied bail, accused of "subversion" under the security law.

Many of the district councilors who were elected in 2019 have since been disqualified or fled the territory after the security law came into force.

In an effort to boost turnout, authorities offered free public transport and allowed Hong Kong residents living in mainland China to vote at three border checkpoints - to little effect.

Passengers at bus and subway stations were instead heading out to beaches or country parks. Hiking trails, malls and restaurants were crowded. Theme parks including Hong Kong Disneyland were crammed.

A 60-year-old woman characterized hiking on Sunday as a form of protest.

"See if we the elderly will vote in unison?" she told local media. "We will only hike in unison."

Chief Executive Carrie Lam dismissed concerns over sluggish participation as an indication that "the government is doing well." Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Lam said that she would not be responsible for low turnout.

Chinese state media throughout the day presented a different reality. China Daily, the Chinese Communist Party's English-language newspaper, said the city was "gripped by election enthusiasm." Wen Wei Po, another state-owned newspaper, focused on the 90 percent turnout among a voting bloc known as the election committee subsector, a group of around 1,500 pro-Beijing elites who have the power to elect the biggest bloc in the legislature.

But Regina Ip, a pro-Beijing stalwart running for reelection, made an emergency appeal for people to vote hours before polls closed.

"A number of people have traveled to other places with free transport instead of voting. ... All the public transport systems are full," she said, according to the South China Morning Post. "Naturally I hope to be able to return with high votes but currently it's very dicey."