Hong Kong democracy movement loses ground in key byelection
Hong Kong pro-democracy candidates won back only two of four seats in a crucial byelection in the semiautonomous Chinese region, final results showed Monday.
The opposition wasn’t able to recapture all its territory, losing some to formidably resourced pro-Beijing rivals and falling short of the number needed to veto most bills in the city’s semi-democratic Legislative Council.
The four seats were among six left empty when a group of lawmakers were expelled following a 2016 controversy over their oaths, which they used to defy China.
Little-known activist and neighbourhoodcouncillor Au Nok-hin won a key battleground after being enlisted at the last minute. He stepped in after election officials rejected the pro-democracy camp’s marquee candidate, 21-year-old Agnes Chow, over her party’s platform advocating “self-determination” for the former British colony, which she slammed as “political screening.”