Hong Kong’s government yesterday announced a roadmap for leadership elections that offered no concessions to the territory’s democracy camp — prompting a backlash from opposition lawmakers and warnings of more street protests. Hong Kong Chief Secretary Carrie Lam (林鄭月娥) said the first-ever public vote for the territory’s chief executive in 2017 would be held in “strict compliance” with a ruling by the Chinese National People’s Congress in August last year.
That ruling stated that candidates for chief executive election must first be approved by a loyalist committee, a decision that sparked the pro-democracy Umbrella movement, which saw more than two months of mass rallies, paralyzing the territory beginning in late September last year.
Protesters branded Beijing’s framework — universal suffrage based on pre-selected candidates — as “fake democracy.”
Photo: AFP
Analysts warned that protesters would likely mobilize once more if the bill is passed in the coming months.
Student leaders have already mooted the idea of an “Occupy Legco” movement to take over the legislature if the bill goes through.
“We are totally disappointed with the political reform package,” student leader Joshua Wong (黃之鋒) said.
He added that it was the “responsibility of the young generation” to oppose elections which stuck to Beijing’s restrictions.
The small number of tents that have remained on a road next to the government headquarters since the end of last year’s protests have swollen in recent weeks. Lam said that voters in 2017 would choose from two to three candidates selected by a 1,200-strong nominating committee. That committee would reflect the current makeup of the pro-Beijing election committee, which up until now has chosen the territory’s leader, she said.
“These proposals are in strict compliance with the Basic Law [Hong Kong’s constitution] and the relevant decisions of [China’s] Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress,” Lam said. “At the same time they fully take into account the views expressed by various sectors of the community.”
“It is neither practicable nor realistic to expect that one package of proposals can meet the ideals cherished by different people,” she added.
Lam urged lawmakers to cooperate on passing the bill, but most pro-democracy legislators marched out of the chamber following her speech.
“The pan-democrats would like to condemn strongly the government,” said Civic Party leader Alan Leong (梁家傑), one of those who walked out.
“We will launch a campaign to oppose the proposal and we will ask the Hong Kong public to continue to seek true universal suffrage,” he added.
“[The package] is very draconian, very harsh, very austere and shows no room for compromise,” political analyst Willy Lam (林和立) said, adding that it was an extension of the hard line of Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平).
“This reflects Xi Jinping’s much more conservative line, not just on Hong Kong, but in Taiwan and Tibet,” Lam said, adding that Hong Kong was “taking orders from Beijing.”
He expressed surprise at the lack of movement on the composition of the nominating committee, which commentators had suggested could be made more representative of the general public.
“It is a certainty that no democratic candidate can become a [final] candidate,” Lam said.
Candidates can enter the first round of the leadership race with the backing of 120 members of the nominating committee, but they then need 50 percent support from the committee to move forward to the public vote.
“If the government succeeds in passing the bill then it’s quite possible there may be a few thousand protesters surrounding the legislative council building,” Lam added.
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