CHINA’S National People’s Congress (NPC) passed a reform of Hong Kong’s electoral system today that will make it harder for anti-Beijing candidates to stand.

The law adds Hong Kong representatives to the NPC and the People’s Political Consultative Conference, another all-China body, to the Election Committee which votes for the chief executive, and establishes a vetting body that approves candidates for the Legislative Council.

Both bodies retain significant representation of corporate and sectoral interests, a legacy of Hong Kong’s history as a British colony.

Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam said the changes will “effectively deal with reckless moves or internal rift that have torn Hong Kong apart” in recent years.

The city was rocked by protests and riots for much of 2019, with shops, transport infrastructure and trade union offices smashed, ostensibly in response to a contentious extradition Bill. 

Authorities have responded by implementing China’s National Security Law in the territory, placing greater restrictions on foreign funding for organisations, and through today’s electoral reform. 

Beijing accuses the demonstrators of being manipulated by hostile interests — the US government froze $2 million earmarked for the protest movement last June in response to the security law — and of trying to prevent the progressive integration of the city into mainland China under the 50-year “one country, two systems” transition period adopted when it regained the colony from Britain in 1997.

The NPC also voted today for a plan to reach technological self-sufficiency, a response to attacks on Chinese tech firms’ supply chains by the US government which is likely to limit market access for Western companies.