Hong Kong to vet candidates’ past to ensure loyalty to China: official

Pro-Beijing panel will review all materials concerning their ‘loyalty and allegiance’

Candidates for public office in Hong Kong will have their entire history vetted, its top justice official said on Saturday, after China announced a radical overhaul to ensure only “patriots” run the city. Beijing imposed sweeping changes on Hong Kong’s electoral system on Tuesday, the latest step in an ongoing crackdown on the city’s democracy movement after massive and often violent protests. The latest amendments to the Basic Law, Hong Kong’s mini Constitution, have ensured that a majority of lawmakers will be selected by a reliably pro-Beijing committee, and every candidate will be vetted by national security officers.