How to win Hong Kong elections: political credentials trump real-world expertise in Sunday poll as those deemed less ‘patriotic’ fail to make the cut

Patriotism was voters’ main consideration when picking winners in Election Committee race, followed by backing ‘brand names’, according to analysts

Political considerations trumped candidates’ professional track records, meaning professionals in their fields of expertise and Beijing-friendly outliers failed to secure much support

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Published: 8:00am, 21 Sep 2021Updated: 10:37am, 21 Sep 2021

All candidates at Hong Kong’s Election Committee poll on Sunday had to be vetted to ensure they were “patriots” before they could run, but to voters, there appeared to be some deemed more patriotic than others.

The criterion, followed by a reliance on “brand name” candidates, trumped voters’ other considerations, analysts said, as they studied the slate of winners and losers in the city’s first “patriots only” election under Beijing’s overhaul.

Voters seemed to be assessing candidates’ political credentials rather than their professional track records in deciding whom to pick.

That explained, the observers noted, why reputable professionals and outliers running independently were among the biggest losers in an election marked by a high level of orchestration between hopefuls.

Only high-profile or “brand names” from the pro-establishment camp or those who had pooled their candidacies together in “coordinated lists” secured seats on the 1,500-member Election Committee, while independents were defeated despite being part of the same Beijing-friendly bloc.

Sunday’s poll for the Election Committee – which will wield extensive new powers beyond its traditional role of selecting the city’s chief executive – were the first since Beijing’s radical shake-up of the city’s electoral system to ensure only those regarded as “patriotic” and posing no threat to national security could hold public office.

There was a drastic reduction this year in the electorate, falling from more than 240,000 in 2016 – mostly individuals – to about 4,900, the majority of whom were corporate voters.