Australia's Foreign Minister Marise Payne says Canberra is "seriously concerned" about changes by Beijing to Hong Kong's electoral system.
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The National People's Congress (NPC), China's ceremonial legislature, on Thursday endorsed a plan to "improve" Hong Kong's electoral system by giving a pro-Beijing committee power to appoint more of the city's lawmakers, reducing the public's role in the government.
"Australia is seriously concerned about changes by Beijing to Hong Kong's electoral system, which weaken its democratic institutions," Payne said in a tweet on Friday.
"It is essential that Hong Kong people have channels to exercise their fundamental freedom of political expression."
Overhauling Hong Kong's electoral system is being done in order to "uphold the principle of patriots administering Hong Kong," Premier Li Keqiang said during a press conference after the closing of the NPC.
Critics of China's move say it further reduces the space for civil liberties in Hong Kong, a former British colony that was guaranteed a certain degree of autonomy from Beijing until 2047.
Last year during the parliamentary session, Beijing approved a national security law that effectively criminalised dissent in the financial hub, leading to dozens of arrests.
Following massive protests in Hong Kong in the summer of 2019, voters in November that year installed a slate of pro-democracy candidates during district council elections as a rebuke to Beijing.
By overhauling the electoral system, the central government wants to ensure that cannot happen again.
Australian Associated Press