Hong Kong’s Election Overhaul in Context Hong Kongers protest the extradition bill in June 2019. (Studio Incendo, https://flic.kr/p/2gf6Ndr; CC BY 2.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/) On March 30, Chinese lawmakers passed legislation that will dramatically overhaul Hong Kong’s electoral system. That legislation—which takes the form of amendments to Hong Kong’s Basic Law—does not stand alone: It appears to be the third in a recent raft of laws that consolidate Beijing’s control over Hong Kong, formally a Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). To better understand the election amendments and their potential effects, it’s important to understand both the current context and prior developments that have led to the legislation’s adoption.