Pro-democracy candidates surge, pro-Beijing candidates suffer amid record turnout in Hong Kong elections

John Bacon | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Everything is at stake for Hong Kong. Here's why. Thousands of protestors in Hong Kong have taken to the streets fighting for their right to remain independent from China. Here's what's at stake.

Pro-democracy candidates in Hong Kong won big gains in district council elections Sunday following months of tumultuous, pro-democracy protests that have swept across the semi-autonomous Chinese territory.

The Electoral Affairs Commission said a record-smashing 71.2% of the electorate, or more than 2.9 million residents, took part in voting for 452 seats in 18 district councils. Four years ago, the same elections drew a then-record 47% turnout.

With returns in for over half the seats, pro-democracy candidates already had won 278 seats, more than double their total four years ago. Pro-establishment candidates had won 42. In 2015, pro-democracy candidates won 126 seats while pro-establishment candidates claimed almost 300.

Pro-democracy activist Tommy Cheung and student activist Lester Shum were among the early winners. Cheung describing the results as a "tsunami"; Shum urged the government to meet protester demands quickly.

“We can be happy tonight and take a rest tomorrow," Shum told the South China Morning Post. "But the day after we will need to keep up our fight for the future of Hong Kong."

Council members handle day-to-day operations of the city, handling complaints, and overseeing transportation and public facilities. The elections normally are held with little fanfare, and they have no power over controversial Chief Executive Carrie Lam.

Lawrence Reardon, an associate professor of political science at the University of New Hampshire and expert on Chinese politics, called the voter turnout "extraordinary," noting that voters don't get the chance to vote for their chief executive.

"This election demonstrates that the electorate, young and old, is rejecting the pro-Beijing legislators and supporting the democratic movement," Reardon told USA TODAY. "This might make Beijing party leaders more circumspect" before attempting to delegitimize the demonstrations.

Lam came under fire this year for a government proposal to allow suspects in Hong Kong to be extradited to mainland China. Lam's government withdrew the proposal amid the massive, sometimes violent protests, but activists continued to press demands for more freedoms and investigations into police behavior.

A government show of force Sunday, in the form of thousands of riot police providing security at every polling site, apparently did not intimidate voters. Many remained at the sites after polls closed, warily watching officials count the votes.

"It’s a significant message to the authorities that people here believe in democracy, the rule of law and human rights," said British House of Lords member David Alton, an international election observer. "The elections have been conducted peacefully and appear fair and well regulated."

Hong Kong students battle police: Schools shut down for 1 million students

Hong Kong was controlled by Britain until 1997, when it ceded control to China as a special administrative region that was promised a “high degree of autonomy" for 50 years. Pro-democracy residents of Hong Kong have long accused China of encroaching on that autonomy.

Last week, Hong Kong students armed with bows and arrows and hurling gasoline bombs battled police firing tear gas and blasting water cannons. The violence, the latest in a long line of angry clashes between protesters and police, shut down roads and transit stations and forced all schools to close for the territory's 1 millions students.

Sunday's election also came days after the U.S. Congress sent President Donald Trump the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act. The bill would require an annual review to determine whether China has provided sufficient autonomy to allow Hong Kong to keep the special legal treatment it receives from the United States.

The bill, passed overwhelmingly in the House and Senate, was designed to show support for the protesters. Trump, embroiled in difficult trade talks with mainland China, has not said whether he would sign the legislation. A veto, however, likely would be overridden. The bill also would become law after 10 days if Trump simply elected not to sign it.

China says U.S. Senate blind on facts: Hong Kong well-being must be priority

The Chinese mainland government of President Xi Jinping has repeatedly chastised the U.S. for attempting to interfere with China's internal affairs and fueling the unrest.

"The issue Hong Kong faces is not about human rights or democracy, but about stopping violence and chaos, upholding rule of law and restoring order as soon as possible," said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang.

Stanley Rosen, a political science professor and China expert at the University of Southern California, said rumors had been spreading that the government might cancel the elections. He noted that the past few days had seen relative calm in Hong Kong, and he was encouraged that the election took place.

"It gave the voters a chance to show — peacefully — that they were dissatisfied with the Hong Kong government, the Hong Kong police, and presumably with their Beijing backers," Rosen told USA TODAY.