A Chinese official yesterday met a second group of Hong Kong democracy activists in a week, as Beijing steps up lobbying for its plan to allow only limited political reforms in the territory.
Yesterday’s meeting between Deputy Director of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in Hong Kong Li Gang (李剛) and the Alliance for Universal Suffrage comes after the first official contact between Beijing and Hong Kong’s leading opposition party on Monday. Li met the chairman and deputy chairwomen of the Democratic Party on Monday in an unprecedented outreach to a group that Beijing traditionally views as troublemakers.
Deputy convener of the Alliance for Universal Suffrage Wong Pik-wan told reporters after arriving at the liaison office that her group hopes “the central government leaders will respond to Hong Kongers’ aspirations for a roadmap to true democracy.”
While Hong Kong enjoys Western-style civil liberties and maintains a capitalist system as part of its semiautonomous status under communist Chinese rule, it has only limited elections. Its leader is chosen by an 800-member committee stacked with Beijing loyalists and its 60-member legislature is half-elected, half chosen by interest groups.
In a reform package backed by Beijing, the Hong Kong government recently proposed expanding the leader selection committee to 1,200 people for the 2012 election cycle and expanding the legislature to 70 members — but keeping the chamber half-elected. Democracy activists say the proposals don’t go far enough.
Despite China’s olive branch, the pro-democracy camp has continued to oppose the proposed reforms.
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