Hong Kong: A Chinese Foreign Ministry official for Hong Kong outlined the "overall design" of the changes to the city's electoral system on Tuesday.
Song Ru'an said the new system will "be entrusted with new function of electing a relatively large share of (Legislative Council) members, and directly participating in the nomination of all candidates of the Legco."
Read: Pro-Beijing committee to elect some Hong Kong legislators
Currently, half of Hong Kong's legislature is directly elected by voters, although the mass resignation of opposition legislators to protest the expulsion of four of their colleagues for being "unpatriotic" means the body is now entirely controlled by Beijing loyalists.
Read: Hong Kong leader backs electoral changes
Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam on Monday said the city's government "fully welcomes" changes to its electoral system that will substantially increase central government control over Hong Kong politics and exclude critics of Beijing. Chinese authorities have said the draft decision before China's National People's Congress would mean the largely pro-Beijing committee that selects Hong Kong's leader would also choose a large part of the legislature to ensure the city is run by "patriots."
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The Election Committee would also have the right to vet candidates for the Legislative Council, weeding out any people suspected of being insufficiently loyal to China and the ruling Communist Party.
AP
