U.S. Politicians Celebrate Hong Kong Pro-Democracy Landslide: ‘Freedom Wins!’ – Newsweek

Hong Kong pro-democracy activists scored a shocking win in local elections this weekend, sweeping the contest to take 17 of 18 district councils and 388 of 452 seats—almost 90 percent.

The vote—held amid serious unrest over Chinese government encroachment into the semi-autonomous territory—represented the most significant victory for the anti-government movement since mass anti-Beijing protests began in June.

Some 2.94 million voters cast ballots, representing 71.2 percent of all those eligible to vote. This is a huge increase from the last local elections, when 47 percent of those…