Legco elections: why the government has failed to make a case for the extraordinary one-year delay

On July 31, the chief executive announced that the Legislative Council elections – scheduled for September 6 – would be postponed for a year because of the coronavirus pandemic. Since then, discussions have shifted to how to handle the “vacuum” in legislative business and whether the National People’s Congress Standing Committee should appoint all incumbent legislators to a “transitional” legislature or whether some should be disqualified. Such discussions are understandable, but they miss…