Rejecting the demands of Hong Kong people who staged a massive pro-democracy march, China said yesterday it will stick by its earlier decision ruling out the direct election of the territory's next leader.
A key mainland official in Hong Kong said China's top legislative panel had made its position clear when it said in April that Hong Kong people cannot democratically choose the successor to Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa in 2007 or all lawmakers in 2008.
Hong Kong people staged a massive, peaceful pro-democracy march on Thursday, with many holding out hopes that Beijing would change its mind and move more swiftly on political reforms. Organizers said 530,000 people turned out, while police put the figure at 200,000.
But a mainland official told reporters yesterday that Beijing won't bend to the "irrational" wishes of the demonstrators.
"The National People's Congress had made a final decision," said Li Gang, deputy head of Beijing's liaison office in Hong Kong. "As the top judicial authority, its decisions cannot be changed, so to try to attempt something that's impossible is irrational."
Former British colony Hong Kong has enjoyed Western-style civil liberties since its handover to Chinese rule in 1997, but only limited democracy.
Tung was picked by an 800-member committee loyal to Beijing. Voters will choose 30 of 60 lawmakers in September elections, with the remaining seats to be filled by special interest groups such as business executives, doctors and bankers.
Beijing and the Hong Kong government are worried that the pro-democracy sentiment sweeping through the territory will spell bad news for Tung's legislative allies.
They fear they could end up with a Legislative Council that won't back Tung.
The pro-democracy march came on the anniversary of a rally by 500,000 Hong Kong people angered by Tung's plans last year to pass an anti-subversion bill that many viewed as a threat to freedoms.
Stunned by the turnout, Tung withdrew the measure, and locals then began setting their sights on full democracy.
Hong Kong's mini-constitution, the Basic Law, sets out universal suffrage as an eventual goal, but there is no timetable specified.
In an effort at conciliation, Tung plans to meet soon with pro-democracy lawmakers.
Opposition legislator Emily Lau said yesterday that the pro-democracy camp will ask Tung to lobby China for quicker political reforms.
Following Thursday's march, Tung said he understood people's aspirations, but insisted any reforms must be "gradual and orderly" and go along with China's ruling.
Lau charged that Tung has not given an adequate response to the people's will.
"Tung didn't hear the citizens' views at all," she said. "He has let our citizens down."
Another pro-democracy legislator, James To, expressed doubts about whether Tung has much clout with Beijing.
"Tung carries very little weight on this matter," To said. "He's pretty much a puppet."
Kehinde Sanni spends his days smoothing out dents and repainting scratched bumpers in a modest autobody shop in Lagos. He has never left Nigeria, yet he speaks glowingly of Burkina Faso military leader Ibrahim Traore. “Nigeria needs someone like Ibrahim Traore of Burkina Faso. He is doing well for his country,” Sanni said. His admiration is shaped by a steady stream of viral videos, memes and social media posts — many misleading or outright false — portraying Traore as a fearless reformer who defied Western powers and reclaimed his country’s dignity. The Burkinabe strongman swept into power following a coup in September 2022
A new online voting system aimed at boosting turnout among the Philippines’ millions of overseas workers ahead of Monday’s mid-term elections has been marked by confusion and fears of disenfranchisement. Thousands of overseas Filipino workers have already cast their ballots in the race dominated by a bitter feud between President Ferdinand Marcos Jr and his impeached vice president, Sara Duterte. While official turnout figures are not yet publicly available, data from the Philippine Commission on Elections (COMELEC) showed that at least 134,000 of the 1.22 million registered overseas voters have signed up for the new online system, which opened on April 13. However,
‘FRAGMENTING’: British politics have for a long time been dominated by the Labor Party and the Tories, but polls suggest that Reform now poses a significant challenge Hard-right upstarts Reform UK snatched a parliamentary seat from British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labor Party yesterday in local elections that dealt a blow to the UK’s two establishment parties. Reform, led by anti-immigrant firebrand Nigel Farage, won the by-election in Runcorn and Helsby in northwest England by just six votes, as it picked up gains in other localities, including one mayoralty. The group’s strong showing continues momentum it built up at last year’s general election and appears to confirm a trend that the UK is entering an era of multi-party politics. “For the movement, for the party it’s a very, very big
ENTERTAINMENT: Rio officials have a history of organizing massive concerts on Copacabana Beach, with Madonna’s show drawing about 1.6 million fans last year Lady Gaga on Saturday night gave a free concert in front of 2 million fans who poured onto Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro for the biggest show of her career. “Tonight, we’re making history... Thank you for making history with me,” Lady Gaga told a screaming crowd. The Mother Monster, as she is known, started the show at about 10:10pm local time with her 2011 song Bloody Mary. Cries of joy rose from the tightly packed fans who sang and danced shoulder-to-shoulder on the vast stretch of sand. Concert organizers said 2.1 million people attended the show. Lady Gaga
RSS