HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong’s legislature has resumed its debate on changing electoral laws to drastically reduce the public’s ability to vote for lawmakers and increase the number of pro-Beijing lawmakers making decisions for the city. Once approved, the amendments mean the city’s national security department will check the backgrounds of potential candidates and a new committee will ensure those candidates are patriotic. There is likely to be little opposition when the legislature votes on the changes after opposition lawmakers resigned en masse last year. The changes to Hong Kong’s elections come as Beijing further tightens control over the city that saw anti-government protest and political strife in 2019.
