Voters in Hong Kong deliver a powerful snub to Beijing

WHEN THE “silent majority” found its voice, it did not use it as the authorities hoped. The Hong Kong government of Carrie Lam, the chief executive, had hoped that a populace cowed into silence by six months of increasingly violent unrest would use local elections on November 24th to show their exasperation with anti-government protesters. Instead, they delivered a stunning victory to campaigners for democracy, who support the demonstrators’ aims.

The polls were held to pick about 450 representatives to district councils, rather feeble bodies that deal with local services. Normally pro-democracy politicians pay little attention to such elections. This time they wanted to turn them into a referendum on the protests. The result was a record turnout, and a near-total sweep of the seats.