SAR candidates must be loyal, draft says

Candidates standing for election to be deputies of the National People's Congress from the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions must be loyal to China and declare that they have not received foreign funds related to the election, according to drafts of election methods submitted to the national legislature.

The drafts were explained to an NPC plenary session on Wednesday by Wang Chen, vice-chairman of the NPC Standing Committee.

NPC deputies must declare in the Participant's Registration Form that they uphold the Chinese Constitution and bear allegiance to China, Wang said, citing the drafts.

NPC deputies from Hong Kong and Macao must declare that they uphold their respective SAR's Basic Law, bear allegiance to the special administrative regions and endorse the One Country, Two Systems principle, the drafts say.

Candidates must also declare that they have not received, and will not receive, directly or indirectly, any funds in relation to the election from any foreign institution, organization or individual.

This requirement is to safeguard the security of the State and prevent foreign powers from interfering in the elections, Wang said. In the event it was discovered and confirmed that a candidate had received foreign funds, the candidate's election would be declared null and void, Wang said, citing the drafts.

The drafts also note that elections should be competitive and held by secret ballot, and candidates for NPC deputy will be elected only if they have obtained more than half of the votes cast by members of the election councils. To be eligible for candidacy, one first has to be nominated by 10 or more members of the election councils. The drafts are expected to be voted on before the 12th NPC concludes its fifth session on March 15.