The Pulse：Interview with Adrian Ho, founder of SaveHK & latest in Myanmar

On Tuesday, the National People’s Congress Standing Committee unanimously passed legislation amend Hong Kong’s electoral system. The new laws covers the selection of the Chief Executive, the formation of the Election Committee and a wholesale reform of the composition and election system for the Legislative Council. The number of seats in the Election Committee are to be increased to 1,500. That 117 seats from district councils have been removed. The committee will also take on a new role: electing 40 members to the Legislative Council, the size of which will be increased from 70 to 90 seats. The number of directly elected members will shrink, from 35 to 20. Anyone running for Chief Executive, the Legislative Council or the Election Committee will have to be vetted by the Hong Kong Committee for Safeguarding National Security with the assistance of the National Security Department of the Hong Kong Police Force. While the emphasis is on “patriots administering Hong Kong”, Chief Executive Carrie Lam says people who hold different political beliefs will still be able to run for election as long as they meet basic requirements. Earlier, I talked to Adrian Ho, founder of the social media group, SaveHK about the changing political landscape.

The United Nations Security Council said on Wednesday that since the coup in Myanmar two months ago, more than 520 people have been killed. It warned of the risk of civil war and an imminent “bloodbath”. That same day, Myanmar’s junta declared a one-month ceasefire with ethnic armed groups. However, it said it would continue to curb “actions that disrupt government security and administration”.