The Chinese national flags and the regional flags of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region are seen in Hong Kong on October 1, 2021.Photo: CFP

The seventh Legislative Council (LegCo) election of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) was held successfully on Sunday. A total of 153 candidates from all walks of life, who hold different political views, vied for 90 seats. Among them are experienced political figures, talented young people, scholars, accountants, lawyers, construction workers, bus drivers and "Hong Kong drifters," which makes the election highly representative.

This is the first LegCo election since the central government reformed the HKSAR's electoral system in March. The new electoral system fully implements the standard of "patriots governing Hong Kong." By setting up strict legal standards and qualification reviews, the system makes the radical opposition LegCo members who are willing to act as pawns for external forces lose the opportunity to turn the LegCo into an anti-China base. 

Meanwhile, membership of the seventh term of the HKSAR LegCo will increase from 70 to 90, and the members are to be elected by the Election Committee constituency, functional constituencies and geographical constituencies. This aims to ensure that all social classes and all constituencies are represented in the legislature, which is highly representative and politically inclusive, ensuring equal participation and fair competition.

Hong Kong people voted in an orderly manner and the process went smoothly on Sunday. Each candidate took part in active campaigns. This reminds many people of the district council elections held in November 2019. At that time, violence cast a shadow over Hong Kong. Many pro-establishment LegCo members were threatened, harassed or even attacked. Now two years have passed and Hong Kong has turned the page.

Voters line up outside a polling station at Whampoa in Hong Kong to cast their votes for the Legislative Council, the first election since the city implemented the electoral reform that ensures only patriots govern Hong Kong. Photo: Xinhua

If we compare the past and the present, we can clearly tell what kind of LegCo Hong Kong needs and in which direction Hong Kong's democracy should go. HKSAR Chief Executive Carrie Lam talked about her expectations of LegCo during a recent interview with the Global Times. 

She said she hopes that the demands of Hong Kong people can be brought to LegCo. Meanwhile, LegCo can fulfill its function of amending laws and reviewing budgets under the Basic Law. Last, LegCo can supervise the work of administrative bodies. 

Frankly speaking, these three expectations ought to be the responsibilities of LegCo. Lam expressed her hopes because the previous LegCo did not fulfill the three responsibilities. Some LegCo members even engaged in inciting chaos and riots.

For instance, right after the 2019 protests, forces which advocated mutual destruction proposed to seize more than half of LegCo's seats to veto all government plans so as to paralyze the government's campaign strategies. Some extreme opposition members deliberately made a fuss to obstruct LegCo from functioning formally.

Hong Kong and the Hong Kong people have had enough of these people trying to destabilize Hong Kong and China under the banner of "democracy." The national security law for Hong Kong passed in 2020 and the new electoral system adopted in 2021 will point the direction for Hong Kong's democracy. Embedding patriotism into the democratic process serves the purpose of good governance of Hong Kong and the fundamental interests of the over 7 million Hong Kong residents.

This is certainly and naturally something some US and Western forces are not willing to see. Only a chaotic Hong Kong fits their national interests. Long before this LegCo election, the propaganda machines in the US and West had ramped up their efforts to smear the election and even illegally instigate some Hong Kong people to cast an invalid ballot. Such blatant interference in an election is the invasive behavior which the US and Western countries often uses to criticize other countries and regions. Now they are targeting Hong Kong with such tactics, which exposes their true intention and hypocrisy.

Candidates attend the 2021 Legislative Council General Election Committee Constituency Candidate Forum on December 17 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center ahead of the December 19 election. Photo: AFP

After the voting began, opinion agencies in the US and West hyped the turnout level, which is just an attempt to create a discourse trap. We must point out that turnout is never the sole benchmark to measure whether a society is democratic and whether it functions normally. In 2020 when former president Donald Trump and incumbent President Joe Biden vied for the US leadership, the turnout was the highest for 120 years, but such rates were pushed by serious political division and intense political confrontation. Not long after the election, the attacks on Capitol Hill took place, which shamed the US-style democracy to the greatest extent.

The key to whether a system is truly democratic or not lies in whether the people have the final say. This LegCo election attracted more candidates in each procedure. Combining the two key values of patriotism and democracy and solving the problems of economy and livelihoods in Hong Kong are what Hong Kong people truly need. After the election, Hong Kong's legislative bodies and administrative organs are expected to better coordinate, so that the Hong Kong government can effectively govern and better serve the welfare of the 7 million Hong Kong residents.

On July 1, 2019, rioters smashed the LegCo complex, overshadowing Hong Kong's democracy and rule of law. On December 19, 2021, the new LegCo election is a firm step toward Hong Kong's good-quality democracy and rule of law.