Pete Ross

Currently in Hong Kong, only people deemed patriotic to China are allowed to stand as candidates.

that means there's a vetting session.

Now, many people have criticised this.

They say that this is not really a, it doesn't really represent a wide range of views in this election.

Hong Kong has transformed drastically since the introduction of a national security law in 2021.

Many opposition voices, people that traditionally would have been

In LegCo, people that would have been standing in this election today, many of them have been detained.

Many are living in exile.

So the city has transformed drastically.

But then on top of that, people are seeing this election, especially they're looking into the turnout.

And I think that will be somewhat of a sign of how people feel about the authorities and in a sense, a vote of confidence.

Also, this is happening in the shadow of that devastating fire.

What sort of impact has that had?

That's right.

When the fire first broke out 11 days ago, there was some speculation that this election would actually be postponed.

I think the authorities have recognised that this city is essentially in mourning.

This was the worst fire that the city has seen in 80 years.

It was a horrific fire.

There was a huge loss of life.

The fire itself burned for 40 hours.