Hong Kong pro-democracy activists yesterday heckled a top Chinese official, setting the stage for disruptive protests against the mainland’s landmark decision to limit voting reforms, but Beijing insisted that there would be no turning back.
Li Fei (李飛), deputy secretary-general of the Standing Committee of China’s National People’s Congress (NPC), was forced to speak over the cries of pro-democracy lawmakers and protesters during a meeting with local officials in the territory.
Brief scuffles erupted outside the venue as police used pepper spray to stop protesters from storming the hall, where Li told delegates that China would not tolerate a local leader who is disloyal to the mainland.
Photo: Reuters
“Anyone who does not love the country, love Hong Kong or is confrontational towards the central government shall not be the chief executive,” he said.
His visit came a day after democracy activists vowed an “era of civil disobedience,” including mass sit-ins at the territory’s financial district in response to Beijing’s decision to grant only limited reforms in the former British colony.
Democrat lawmakers said they would sink Beijing’s proposal when it comes before the territory’s Legislative Council early next year.
Photo: Reuters
“If it’s the same proposal decided by the NPC, we will vote against it,” Hong Kong Legislator Frederick Fung (馮檢基) said, adding that at least 25 of his colleagues have signed a declaration to shoot it down.
The proposal needs to win two-thirds support — or 47 votes — in the 70-seat legislature to pass.
For years, activists have agitated for the right to nominate candidates and to vote for Hong Kong’s leader, a campaign buoyed by a recent surge in discontent over rising inequality and perceived interference by Beijing. However, their hopes were dashed on Sunday.
The NPC Standing Committee announced that residents will be allowed to elect their next leader in 2017 — but candidates must be chosen by a pro-Beijing committee and must win the backing of more than half of the committee members to stand. Only two or three will be allowed to contest the election.
Democracy activists have called the restrictive framework a betrayal of Beijing’s promise to award Hong Kong universal suffrage by 2017 and say the nominating committee would ensure a sympathetic slate of candidates and exclude dissidents.
As Li approached the lectern to speak at the Asia World Expo convention center, veteran dissident Legislator Leung Kwok-hung (梁國雄) started shouting him down, his fist raised in the air. He was joined by a dozen pro-democracy lawmakers and some younger demonstrators who unfurled a banner and chanted: “The central government broke its promise, shameless.”
The meeting was briefly suspended while security officers removed the hecklers, to loud cheers and applause from pro-Beijing lawmakers.
Police confirmed they used pepper spray outside the venue when “protesters behaved violently.”
During an afternoon press conference Li criticized the pan-
democrats for heckling him.
“The door for dialogue has always been open, but this morning, it was they [the pan-democrats] who refused to communicate,” he said.
Li flew to Hong Kong from Beijing late on Sunday and was forced to drive past a crowd of largely student protesters gathered outside his hotel, in the kind of scenes that would be unthinkable on the mainland.
Following China’s decision to vet candidates, the pro-democracy group Occupy Central said on Sunday it would go ahead with its threat to take over the Central financial district in protest, at an unspecified date.
Shortly before Li’s speech activists launched what they described as a “slow drive” through the territory, the first of a string of promised small-scale civil disobedience acts.
About 10 cars, decked with flags, made their way deliberately slowly through the territory, accompanied by police motorcycles, but traffic was not noticeably disrupted.
POLITICAL AGENDA: Beijing’s cross-strait Mid-Autumn Festival events are part of a ‘cultural united front’ aimed at promoting unification with Taiwan, academics said Local authorities in China have been inviting Taiwanese to participate in cross-strait Mid-Autumn Festival celebrations centered around ideals of “family and nation,” a move Taiwanese academics said politicizes the holiday to promote the idea of “one family” across the Taiwan Strait. Sources said that China’s Fujian Provincial Government is organizing about 20 cross-strait-themed events in cities including Quanzhou, Nanping, Sanming and Zhangzhou. In Zhangzhou, a festival scheduled for Wednesday is to showcase Minnan-language songs and budaixi (布袋戲) glove puppetry to highlight cultural similarities between Taiwan and the region. Elsewhere, Jiangsu Province is hosting more than 10 similar celebrations in Taizhou, Changzhou, Suzhou,
The Republic of China (ROC) is celebrating its 114th Double Ten National Day today, featuring military parades and a variety of performances and speeches in front of the Presidential Office in Taipei. The Taiwan Taiko Association opened the celebrations with a 100-drummer performance, including young percussionists. As per tradition, an air force Mirage 2000 fighter jet flew over the Presidential Office as a part of the performance. The Honor Guards of the ROC and its marching band also heralded in a military parade. Students from Taichung's Shin Min High School then followed with a colorful performance using floral imagery to represent Taiwan's alternate name
COGNITIVE WARFARE: Chinese fishing boats transmitting fake identification signals are meant to test Taiwan’s responses to different kinds of perceived incursions, a report said Chinese vessels are transmitting fake signals in Taiwan’s waters as a form of cognitive warfare, testing Taipei’s responses to various types of incursions, a report by the Institute for the Study of War said on Friday. Several Chinese fishing vessels transmitted fake automatic identification system (AIS) signals in Taiwan’s waters last month, with one mimicking a Russian warship and another impersonating a Chinese law enforcement vessel, the report said. Citing data from Starboard Maritime Intelligence, the report said that throughout August and last month, the Chinese fishing boat Minshiyu 06718 (閩獅漁06718) sailed through the Taiwan Strait while intermittently transmitting its own AIS
CHINESE INFILTRATION: Medical logistics is a lifeline during wartime and the reported CCP links of a major logistics company present a national security threat, an expert said The government would bolster its security check system to prevent China from infiltrating the nation’s medical cold chain, a national security official said yesterday. The official, who wished to stay anonymous, made the remarks after the Chinese-language magazine Mirror Media (鏡周刊) reported that Pharma Logistics (嘉里醫藥物流) is in charge of the medical logistics of about half of the nation’s major hospitals, including National Taiwan University Hospital and Taipei Veterans General Hospital. The company’s parent, Kerry TJ Logistics Co (嘉里大榮物流), is associated with the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA), the
RSS