that the government was crushing dissent. Also in February 2021, Tsang said "You cannot say that you are patriotic but you do not love the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party or you do not respect it - this does not make sense." In addition, on the potential changes to the electoral system from Beijing, Tsang said that "When the central government reaches a concrete decision, we will fully cooperate." In March 2021, Tsang officially introduced the bill that would force district councillors to take an oath, stating that he would like it "passed as soon as possible." In March 2021, Tsang announced a publicity drive for the legislation that would only allow "patriots" to serve in the government, stating that "The Hong Kong government welcomes and supports the reforms," and that "We have planned for a full-scale programme of explanation, and the entire team of principal officials will participate in promoting this." In less than two weeks, approximately HK $2.5 million was spent on creating some promotional videos. In April 2021, Tsang, along with Teresa Cheng, announced that the government would be looking into the possibility of banning blank ballots; in response, HKU Professor Johannes Chan Man-mun said that "You can't force people to vote for a particular person, or prevent people from voting for that person, or bar them from performing certain voting acts." Also in April 2021, Tsang defended a proposal that would give the Secretary of Justice the power to suspend lawmakers. In December 2021, Tsang threatened The Wall Street Journal, after it published an editorial about the upcoming elections in Hong Kong. Tsang said that convincing people to cast blank ballots is illegal "irrespective whether the incitement is made in Hong Kong or abroad. We reserve the right to take necessary action." In April 2022, Tsang downplayed the record-low turnout of 30.2% in the 2021 Legislative Council elections and said that people should not only look at figures to judge the election. In July 2022, when asked about changes that would only allow "patriots" to run for office, Tsang claimed that "In fact, democracy has taken a quantum leap forward since the return to the motherland in 1997." Tsang also said that "rest assured that the ultimate aim of attaining universal suffrage... remains unchanged." In October 2022, Tsang said that the policy of requiring only "patriots" to serve in the government may be expanded from