New chapter in developing democracy in Hong Kong

That 153 candidates from different political groups holding different political ideas and aspirations are contesting the Hong Kong Legislative Council election shows the openness and inclusiveness of the new election system, which aims to balance the interests of all sectors of society and broadly represent their opinions, and thus opening a new chapter in the development of democracy in the special administrative region.

About 4.47 million people have registered as voters for the LegCo election in the SAR, which will return 90 lawmakers: 20 from the geographical constituencies, 30 from functional constituencies, and 40 from the Election Committee constituency.

According to a new opinion poll conducted by Hong Kong-based think tank Bauhinia Institute, out of the 1,528 voters surveyed, 77.9 percent said they believe that the LegCo election is of great importance to the future of Hong Kong, with 75.8 percent agreeing that the election on Sunday will be fair and widely representative. And more than 72 percent of the respondents said they were confident that the election will return LegCo members who love the motherland and the SAR, thus benefiting all Hong Kong people.

This is another evidence that the election to the seventh Legislative Council, the first major legislative exercise after the electoral system reform, is more about which candidate can serve the SAR better and help take measures to improve Hong Kong people's livelihoods.

Unlike in the past, when polarized political debates between candidates and belligerent rhetoric were common, the debates this time have been on what should be done to boost Hong Kong's economy and consolidate its status as a global financial and logistics hub.

With the elimination of radical and potentially radical elements from the election fray, the Legislative Council can now focus on matters of importance and better serve the SAR and its people.

Yet some Western politicians continue to claim Hong Kong "lacks democracy". Worse, a Western media outlet said in a recent editorial that boycott and "blank ballots are one of the last ways for Hong Kongers to express their political views", openly inciting people to not vote or cast invalid votes. In its strong response, the SAR government warned the media outlet that it may have broken the law by publishing the editorial and the government reserves the "right to take necessary action".

This aptly portrays how desperate some Western media and politicians are to disrupt the democratic process in Hong Kong and drag the city back to the mayhem of 2019.

At the root of the West's antagonism toward Hong Kong's democracy is their anti-China mentality. By badmouthing the improved electoral system in Hong Kong, they mean to not only curb the development of the SAR but also check China's rise.

They see the development of non-Western-style democracy in Hong Kong as a threat to their decades-old claim that only Western-style democracy can stand the test of time because it alone is the true form of democracy.

The election to the Hong Kong legislature is about to prove them wrong. Therefore, it is time to hear the voice of Hong Kong residents, instead of the noises made by certain Western politicians.