Hong Kong slashes number of directly elected council seats

Chief Secretary Eric Chan Kwok-ki speaks to the media after the District Councils (Amendment) Bill, pertaining to electoral overhaul, is passed, on July 6.- AP

HONG KONG (Reuters): Hong Kong's legislature unanimously voted on Thursday (July 6) to overhaul district-level elections by drastically reducing the number of directly elected seats, which critics said would further shrink democratic freedom in the Chinese-ruled city.

Under the amendment, only 88 seats would be directly elected by the public, down from 452 in an election that saw a landslide victory for the democracy camp in 2019.