Hong Kong’s 90 new legislators have begun taking their oaths after December's election, including lawmakers Regina Ip and Michael Tien Puk-sun. The city recorded its lowest ever turnout in legislative elections as voters boycotted an electoral system overhauled by China. With the city’s pro-democracy camp locked up, in exile or banned from the race -- and all candidates on the ballot vetted for loyalty to China’s Communist Party -- the election looked very different from previous in the former British colony. Ninety lawmakers were in December, with the public voting for just 20 of them. Forty others were chosen by a 1,448-member pro-Beijing committee, while the remaining 30 were handpicked by professional groups. Voter turn out among the Election Committee was 98.5%, while the professional groups had a collective rate of 32.2%. The city had earlier postponed the vote, citing Covid-19 restrictions, halting the opposition’s growing success at the ballot box. Hong Kong’s previous legislative election in 2016 gave the pro-democracy camp its greatest-ever share of seats in the chamber after a record turnout. They followed that up with a landslide victory at the 2019 District Council elections, after that year’s mass anti-government protests. Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam had denied that the vote was an “all-same-unit” election, saying the 153 candidates standing were from “different political backgrounds.” Her government wanted citizens to validate Beijing’s new system by getting enough people to participate and avoiding the humiliating rebuke of a low turnout. The opposition once hoped to ride the momentum of its unprecedented landslide victory in the 2019 District Council elections to take control of the legislative chamber. But after the vote was postponed, the central government seized the chance to formally end China’s only experiment with open elections. In March 2021, Beijing overhauled the body that picks the city’s leader to give it even greater sway, including the power to directly elect 40 lawmakers. In May the same year, the city’s legislature approved a China-drafted plan to create a review committee to vet all candidates for elected office. National security officials now determine whether candidates can uphold local laws and respect the Communist Party. Both moves came in the wake of widespread street protests against the government, which were supported by the city’s pro-democracy opposition politicians. “The Chinese government has given up on opposition parties, as it thinks they have not been helpful but harmful to Hong Kong,” said Ivan Choy, a senior lecturer in politics at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Beijing wants the government and new legislature to work together to pass bills easily and “without opposition” he added. In a commentary, Chinese state news agency Xinhua said, “Hong Kong voters have displayed their recognition of the new electoral system featuring broad representation, political inclusiveness, balanced participation, and fair competition.” It said Dec. 19 was “a day when the broad masses of Hong Kong went to the polls to make the ‘Pearl of the Orient’ shine more brightly.” Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/2TwO8Gm Subscribe to our newest channel Quicktake Explained: https://bit.ly/3iERrup Bloomberg Quicktake brings you live global news and original shows spanning business, technology, politics and culture. Make sense of the stories changing your business and your world. To watch complete coverage on Bloomberg Quicktake 24/7, visit http://www.bloomberg.com/qt/live, or watch on Apple TV, Roku, Samsung Smart TV, Fire TV and Android TV on the Bloomberg app. Have a story to tell? Fill out this survey for a chance to have it featured on Bloomberg Quicktake: https://cor.us/surveys/27AF30 Connect with us on… YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/Bloomberg Breaking News on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/BloombergQu... Twitter: https://twitter.com/quicktake Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/quicktake Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/quicktake