HONG KONG - An Olympic gold medallist and other younger faces are entering upcoming elections in Hong Kong as China strives to shore up the legitimacy of the city's legislature even though it vets all prospective candidates. 

Beijing loyalists control the Legislative Council (Legco) but state media outlets have indicated that China wants more political talent and competition amongst its allies, with around one-third of the current legislature set to step down including veteran lawmakers from major pro-Beijing parties.

Vivian Kong, 31, a fencer who won gold at the 2024 Paris Olympics, and Howard Chao, 38, the son of real estate tycoon Cecil Chao and a member of China's top political advisory body, are among two openly pro-Beijing residents of Hong Kong who have submitted nominations for the December 7 poll.

Nominations close on Nov. 6 after which they will be vetted by the Candidate Eligibility Review Committee, a group of senior Hong Kong officials working with national security police to conduct background checks on candidates for "patriotism". It has discretionary power to disqualify anyone.

"An important purpose of the central government's improvement of Hong Kong's electoral system is to reverse the past trend of political infighting and build a high-quality democratic system," China's state-owned Ta Kung Pao newspaper wrote in an editorial this week. It added such a system would support the government to enhance economic development.

China's Liaison Office in Hong Kong did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

After mass pro-democracy protests in 2019, China imposed a national security law in 2020 and revamped the electoral system in 2021, effectively marginalising the once feisty opposition.

The electoral overhaul included reducing the percentage of directly elected seats from half to less than a quarter and the installation of the committee to vet potential candidates. 

Tik Chi-yuen, who claims to be the only mildly democratic voice left in the legislature, has said he won't run again.