Fu Kin-chi says this is an important platform for fully implementing the principle of ‘patriots administering Hong Kong’

The nomination period for the 2026 Election Committee Subsector Ordinary Elections opened on Wednesday and will run until Oct 20. Polling day is set for Nov 22. The new-term Election Committee will be formed on Feb 1, 2027, bearing the important task of nominating chief executive candidates and electing 40 of the Legislative Council members.

On the first day of the nomination period, candidates from various sectors showed up, kicking off a campaign focusing on platforms, strength and commitment. The upcoming election will once again showcase the institutional advantages of the revamped electoral system, exhibiting high-quality democracy through healthy competition.

The Election Committee is composed of 1,500 members from 40 subsectors under five sectors, covering industry, commerce and finance; the professions; grassroots, labor and religious; Legislative Council members; and representatives of national organizations, among others in society.

The newly added fifth sector under the new electoral system incorporates Hong Kong deputies to the National People’s Congress, Hong Kong members of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, and Hong Kong members of national organizations. These representatives are familiar with and understand national affairs, which helps strengthen the national element within the Election Committee and organically combine safeguarding national interests with safeguarding Hong Kong’s interests.

Following the Election Committee’s expansion to five sectors, it includes representatives from the grassroots, women’s and district organization fields. They are all stakeholders in society, fully embodying broad participation and fair competition.

This institutional design enables the Election Committee to better balance Hong Kong’s overall interests, sectoral interests and district interests, and truly reflect the overall interests of society. This is precisely the foundation of Hong Kong’s high-quality democracy — not a political game for a few, but democracy with the common and balanced participation of the whole society.

Judging from the published lists, candidates from all sectors not only possess deep professional backgrounds, but also respond to social pain points with pragmatic platforms, demonstrating sincerity and commitment to serving Hong Kong.

In the labor sector, the Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions has fielded 46 union representatives, covering various sectors of labor groups. Its election platform is based on the concept of “Unite and Forge Ahead, Implement the Plan, Develop for the People’s Benefit” and puts forward 13 propositions, including upholding priority employment for local workers, vigorously cracking down on illegal labor, and promoting the establishment of a statutory collective bargaining mechanism, directly addressing the worker rights protection issues of greatest concern to grassroots workers.

In the education sector, the Education Professionals Alliance has fielded 14 veteran educators from universities, secondary schools, primary schools, kindergartens and special education. The alliance proposes a platform of “pragmatism as the foundation, professionalism as the guiding principle, teachers and students first”. These platforms are closely tied to the most urgent issues in education, reflecting candidates’ sense of responsibility to take root in their sector and serve society.

Candidates compete on platforms and win trust through practical work — this is precisely the “selecting the worthy and capable” principle pursued by Hong Kong’s high-quality democracy, which cherishes not empty slogans but doing things for the people and seeking development for Hong Kong.

In past Election Committee elections, some subsectors had uncontested elections and automatic returns. In the last term, as many as 23 of the 40 subsectors did not require voting, and more than 600 members were automatically returned. However, the main theme of this term’s election has clearly shifted to encouraging healthy competition.

Representatives of multiple sectors received gentle reminders encouraging active participation and enhanced competitiveness; so automatic returns are bound to decrease significantly. According to media reports, some subsectors that produced automatically returned representatives in the last term, including real estate and construction, financial services, and industry, are contested this term. The vast majority of subsectors are contested in this term.

The rule changes in the religious sector are particularly noteworthy. The religious sector has 60 Election Committee seats, historically produced through nomination; if nominations exceeded the number of seats, lots were drawn to decide the candidates. This term, it has changed to some religious bodies first conducting internal “pre-elections” and deciding final nominees by voting.

This change allows patriots to stand out through competition of platforms and strength. Healthy competition is where the vitality of Hong Kong’s high-quality democracy lies. It abandons the division and internal friction of confrontational democracy, advocates rational and pragmatic conduct among patriots — comparing, learning, catching up and surpassing — and allows truly capable, responsible and passionate people to stand out.

The superiority of the new electoral system has already been fully verified in multiple elections: The entire election process was orderly, open and transparent.  

This election culture — which rejects confrontation and division and emphasizes rational discussion and pragmatic platforms — is precisely the good political ecology the new electoral system seeks to shape.

The Election Committee election is an important component of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region’s electoral system and an important platform for fully implementing the principle of “patriots administering Hong Kong”. This is not just an election but a vivid footnote to a new chapter in Hong Kong’s democratic development.

The author is a law professor, director of the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macao Studies, and president of the Association for the Promotion of Rule of Law, Education and Technologies.

The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.