Hong Kong's legislature on Thursday passed a Bill amending electoral laws that drastically reduces the public's ability to vote and increases the number of pro-Beijing lawmakers making decisions for the city.
The new law empowers the city's national security department to check the backgrounds of potential candidates for public office and a sets up a new committee to ensure candidates are “patriotic.”
The number of seats in Hong Kong's legislature will be expanded to 90, with 40 of them elected by a largely pro-Beijing election committee.
The number of legislators elected directly by Hong Kong voters will be cut to 20, from the previous 35.
The bill, passed by a 40-2 vote, was met with little opposition, as most of the legislators are largely pro-Beijing.
Their pro-democracy colleagues resigned en masse last year in protest over the ousting of four lawmakers deemed to be insufficiently loyal to Beijing.