Hong Kong yesterday held by-elections triggered by pro-democracy lawmakers seeking to pressure Beijing into speeding up the pace of electoral reform in the territory.
The elections, which angered Beijing and divided the territory’s democracy movement, were triggered when five lawmakers from the Legislative Council quit in January in a bid to force a de facto referendum on reform.
Frustrated by what they say is China’s intransigence, the lawmakers had hoped that the move — which will likely see them all re-elected — would send a clear message to China.
However, the outcome of the vote is seen as academic since all pro-Beijing political parties have boycotted the process.
Under the current electoral system, only half of Hong Kong’s 60-seat legislature is directly elected, while the rest is selected by the pro-China business elite. Campaigners want the entire parliament to be directly elected.
They also want voters to be able to choose the territory’s chief executive, who is appointed by a Beijing-friendly election committee.
China has said that Hong Kong’s chief executive could be directly elected by 2017 and the legislature in 2020 at the earliest.
Chinese officials have openly denounced the “referendum,” calling it a “blatant challenge” to Hong Kong’s Basic Law, the mini-Constitution that guarantees certain civil liberties for citizens of the former British colony.
Democracy figurehead Martin Lee (李柱銘) condemned a decision by Hong Kong Chief Executive Donald Tsang (曾蔭權) not to cast a ballot.
“This is absolutely ridiculous ... It is a total act of kowtowing to Beijing. This is the problem — Tsang is not elected by the people,” the founder of Hong Kong’s Democratic Party said yesterday.
Tsang said his decision was “purely personal.”
“In view of the unique nature of this by-election and after careful consideration, I have decided not to vote ... All members of my political team share this view and, of their own accord, have also decided not to vote,” he said in a statement.
In response, “Long Hair” Leung Kwok-hung (梁國雄), one of the five who resigned his seat, protested outside Tsang’s residence.
At press time, about 533,000, or 15.8 percent, of Hong Kong’s 3.4 million registered voters had cast a ballot, the Hong Kong Electoral Affairs Commission said.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY STAFF WRITER
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