Hong Kong election defines dramatic changes by Beijing

HONG KONG (AP) — Elections for Hong Kong’s Legislative Council on Sunday mark the culmination of Beijing’s campaign to rein in the body that had once kept it from imposing its unrestrained will over the semi-autonomous territory. Since the city was handed over from British to Chinese rule in 1997, demands for expanded democracy inspired protest movements in 2014 and 2019. But they were largely ignored and subsequently crushed by security forces. After imposing a tough national security law, the Chinese legislature in March passes a resolution to alter Hong Kong’s election law, paving the way for Sunday’s polls. Many saw it as effectively ending the “one country, two systems” framework under which Hong Kong was to retain its separate legal, political and financial institutions for 50 years.