Pro-democracy candidates win big in Hong Kong elections


With a record number of residents coming out to vote in Hong Kong's local elections on Sunday, pro-democracy candidates won more than half of the 452 district council seats.
Nearly three million people cast their ballots — almost double the number of voters who participated in the last election four years ago — with local media estimating on Monday morning that at least 377 seats were captured by pro-democracy candidates and 52 by pro-establishment candidates.
District councils decide on community issues, such as transportation. During the last election, pro-democracy candidates only secured 124 seats, and they received a boost this year thanks to young voters. Over the last six months, Hong Kong has been rocked by anti-government protests, with demonstrators calling for full democracy and an end to Chinese meddling in local affairs.
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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
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