Hong Kong pro-democracy lawmakers were to meet a senior Chinese official yesterday to discuss demands for democratic reforms, the highest-level contact between the two sides since China took back the former British colony in 1997.
"This is a huge breakthrough for us. It is the first time China has agreed such a senior official could meet Hong Kong's pro-democracy camp," legislator Frederick Fung said.
"We really hope that this is the start of more communication between Beijing and Hong Kong's democracy camp," he said.
The meeting comes as Beijing is preparing to review clauses in Hong Kong's constitution later this week on how its leaders and lawmakers may be chosen from 2007.
Critics say the review is a clear signal that Beijing plans to assert its authority more forcefully over Hong Kong, which was promised a high degree of autonomy under a "one country, two systems" principle at the handover.
The review also reflects fears in Beijing that calls for full democracy for Hong Kong could spread to the mainland and ultimately lead to demands for independence for the territory.
Political analysts also described the meeting as a major breakthrough, but said it was not yet clear if Beijing was really softening its hard-line stance.
"It is a compromise from Beijing to win over Hong Kong people, showing it is honoring its promise to hear all sides about electoral reforms," said Timothy Wong at the Chinese University.
"But we will still need to see if it will really take different views on board," Wong said.
Fung and two other lawmakers had planned to fly to Beijing yesterday morning to try to stop the Chinese parliament from reviewing the territory's constitution. But Fung said China had agreed to a meeting in Hong Kong instead.
"We have agreed to meet instead a Chinese official from the [Hong Kong-China] Liaison Office who is of ministerial level. The Liaison Office has also promised us that our views will be delivered by today to Beijing," Fung said.
"We will tell the official that Beijing's interpretation of the constitution will damage `one country, two systems.' It is also doing this without first consulting Hong Kong people, which will tell the world it can do anything it likes to Hong Kong."
Political commentators and pro-democracy forces believe Beijing has already ruled out full democracy for Hong Kong after pointing to large anti-government protests in the territory last year and turmoil in Taiwan after elections this month.
Meanwhile, Hong Kong Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa (董建華) has refused to appear before the territory's legislature to answer questions over democratic reforms, legislators said yesterday.
All 21 of Hong Kong's pro-democracy lawmakers signed a letter asking the Beijing-appointed chief executive to attend an emergency session of the legislature to discuss universal suffrage.
However, the legislators were told by a spokeswoman for Tung that he was too busy to attend the proposed hearing, pro-democracy legislator Margaret Ng said.
BRUSHED OFF: An ambassador to Australia previously said that Beijing does not see a reason to apologize for its naval exercises and military maneuvers in international areas China set off alarm bells in New Zealand when it dispatched powerful warships on unprecedented missions in the South Pacific without explanation, military documents showed. Beijing has spent years expanding its reach in the southern Pacific Ocean, courting island nations with new hospitals, freshly paved roads and generous offers of climate aid. However, these diplomatic efforts have increasingly been accompanied by more overt displays of military power. Three Chinese warships sailed the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand in February, the first time such a task group had been sighted in those waters. “We have never seen vessels with this capability
A Japanese city would urge all smartphone users to limit screen time to two hours a day outside work or school under a proposed ordinance that includes no penalties. The limit — which would be recommended for all residents in Toyoake City — would not be binding and there would be no penalties incurred for higher usage, the draft ordinance showed. The proposal aims “to prevent excessive use of devices causing physical and mental health issues... including sleep problems,” Mayor Masafumi Koki said yesterday. The draft urges elementary-school students to avoid smartphones after 9pm, and junior-high students and older are advised not
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr has fired his national police chief, who gained attention for leading the separate arrests of former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte on orders of the International Criminal Court and televangelist Apollo Carreon Quiboloy, who is on the FBI’s most-wanted list for alleged child sex trafficking. Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin did not cite a reason for the removal of General Nicolas Torre as head of the 232,000-member national police force, a position he was appointed to by Marcos in May and which he would have held until 2027. He was replaced by another senior police general, Jose
POWER CONFLICT: The US president threatened to deploy National Guards in Baltimore. US media reports said he is also planning to station troops in Chicago US President Donald Trump on Sunday threatened to deploy National Guard troops to yet another Democratic stronghold, the Maryland city of Baltimore, as he seeks to expand his crackdown on crime and immigration. The Republican’s latest online rant about an “out of control, crime-ridden” city comes as Democratic state leaders — including Maryland Governor Wes Moore — line up to berate Trump on a high-profile political stage. Trump this month deployed the National Guard to the streets of Washington, in a widely criticized show of force the president said amounts to a federal takeover of US capital policing. The Guard began carrying
RSS