Hong Kong officially rejects Beijing in the midst of continuous protests

The legislative elections held this November in Hong Kong have officially shown the rejection of population of China's policies and the way Beijing is dealing with the conflict that started last June.

The election, the first since the wave of anti-Beijing protests began,saw an unprecedented turnout of more than 71%. Seventeen of the 18 district councils are now controlled by pro-democracy councillors.

“The nature of these elections was to choose the representatives of the 18 districts, but not the government or myself”, said the head of the government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Carrie Lam.

Lam acknowledged in a weekly press address that these elections “had a greater political dimension" and that “the results reflect people's dissatisfaction with the current situation and the deep-seated problems in society”.

The elections have been held in the midst of an aggravation of the protests that the city has been experiencing for months.

The police kept a fence around the Polytechnic University of Hong Kong and they finally assaulted the facilities where hundreds of students had stayed for several days locked, an action that ended up with more than a thousand detainees and dozens injured.

In a joint statement with other religious groups, the Hong Kong Christian Council had called protesters and police “to suspend all acts of violence” and to allow the protesters to “leave campus”.

“The protesters and the police can accept a peaceful solution to the incident”, said the different religious entities that signed the statement.

Polytechnic University of Hong Kong campus. / Twitter @HongKongFP

EVANGELICAL STUDENTS: “THE RESULTS SHOW THE DISSATISFACTION OF THE PEOPLE”

The Fellowship of Evangelical Students in Hong Kong pointed out that “the results show people's displeasure over the government and the pro-government campaign”.

“The democrats now have the control in 17 districts of the 18 in which the city is divided. This marks a shift compared to the last elections in 2015. People have used peaceful and rational means to express their vision”, explained a representative of the FES.

According to him, “the results would calm the current situation for a while”, although he thinks the eviction from the Polytechnic University will have consequences.

“The way in which the government responds to the results and in which the police operates in the near future, will be key factors that will affect stability in the city”, said the representative of the FES.

What happened at the university has left Christian students “very sad and discouraged, but they can't do anything to change the situation”, Cheung stressed.

“There is a strong impotence. FES staff read the Bible with them and guide them spiritually, so that we hope to empower them and prepare them for the challenges that are coming”, he added.

CHINA-USA RELATIONSHIP AFFECTED

The president of the United States, Donald Trump, signed on Wednesday the Act on Human Rights and Democracy in Hong Kong, previously approved by the Senate , controlled by the republicans, and by the House of Representatives, of democratic majority.

Xinhua government news agency informed that Beijing did not like that, and it “will take countermeasures in response and the U.S. must bear all the consequences that may ensue”, said the Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Le Yucheng.

“China strongly urges the U.S. to correct its mistake and make a fresh start, not to put the Act into effect, and immediately stop meddling in Hong Kong affairs or interfering in China's other internal affairs so as to avoid making further damages to bilateral ties and cooperation in important areas between China and the United States”, he added.