China yesterday denied a report indicating it was considering the possibility of full democracy in Hong Kong by 2017, following Sunday's mass democracy protest.
China's liaison office in Hong Kong said "any reports saying the Chinese government has decided a democratic timetable are groundless," the official Xinhua news agency quoted a spokesman as saying.
The comment came after the South China Morning Post newspaper reported yesterday that an unidentified Chinese leader would deliver a vaguely worded statement hinting at the possibility of introducing full democracy to Hong Kong by 2017.
The report said no exact date would be given, quoting an unidentified source close to Beijing.
Tension intensified between the Hong Kong government and the political opposition over the pace of democratization following the protest, where marchers demanded the right to elect their leader.
The government said it is determined to push through a much-criticized democratic reform package in the legislature on Dec. 21. But pro-democracy lawmakers have threatened to veto the proposal if the government does not give a timetable for when Hong Kong will have universal suffrage.
The proposed changes call for the 800-member committee that picks Hong Kong's leader to double in size and an expansion of the 60-member legislature.
Despite China's denial of the South China Morning Post's report, two pro-democracy lawmakers said yesterday that people close to Beijing have contacted them to gauge their acceptance of a proposal to implement full democracy in Hong Kong by 2017.
Meanwhile a spokesman for China's Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday that the US should stay out of Hong Kong's affairs, one day after Washington asked for a democracy timetable in the Chinese territory as soon as possible.
Tens of thousands of protesters gathered on Sunday to demand a roadmap specifying when and how Hong Kong can have full democracy and how citizens can choose their leader.
US State Department spokesman Adam Ereli said the US believes that "the people of Hong Kong are ready for democracy, and that the sooner that a timetable for achieving universal suffrage is established, the better."
But Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang (秦剛) warned that "the affairs of Hong Kong are the internal affairs of China."
"The US has made unwarranted comments on many occasions," Qin said at a regular briefing. "It is inappropriate and we are firmly opposed to it."
Hong Kong, a former British colony, has remained partially democratic since its return to Chinese rule in 1997. Ordinary citizens have no say in picking their leader and only half of the 60 legislators are directly elected. The other half are selected by interest groups.
Two huge pro-democracy marches helped trigger the territory's first leadership change since the handover. The protests in 2003 and last year drew half a million people demanding universal voting rights which have been promised as a goal under Hong Kong's constitution.
Sunday's demonstration was the first major challenge for Chief Executive Donald Tsang (曾蔭權) since he took over from the unpopular Tung Chee-hwa (董建華) earlier this year.
Tsang said after the rally that an immediate timetable for full democracy was impossible.
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