HONG KONG-POLITICS/DEBATE Hong Kong government submits motion on election reform plan to legislature

Record ID: 151597

  • Title: HONG KONG-POLITICS/DEBATE Hong Kong government submits motion on election reform plan to legislature
  • Date: 17th June 2015
  • Summary: HONG KONG, CHINA (JUNE 17, 2015) (REUTERS) MEETING IN PROGRESS HONG KONG EMBLEM VARIOUS OF PRO-DEMOCRACY LEGISLATORS SEATED WITH SIGNS SHOWING CROSS AND UMBRELLA LOGOS VARIOUS OF JOURNALISTS WATCHING MEETING IN PROGRESS BEIJING, CHINA (JUNE 16, 2015) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF CHINA'S FOREIGN MINISTRY CHINESE FLAG FLYING BEIJING, CHINA (JUNE 17, 2015) (REUTERS) CHINESE FOREIGN
  • Embargoed: 2nd July 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: China
  • Country: China
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVAAWJVJGYDXX7LOB65PQN437RN5
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Hong Kong legislators began a debate on a Beijing-backed electoral reform proposal on Wednesday (June 17), as hundreds of people gathered outside government buildings ahead of a contentious vote that is expected by the end of this week.
    Lawmakers are debating a blueprint that will allow a direct vote for Hong Kong's next leader in 2017, but only from pre-screened, pro-Beijing candidates. Opponents say they want a genuinely democratic vote.
    Pro-democracy lawmakers, who hold a crucial one-third veto bloc in the 70-seat Legislative Council, have so far pledged to oppose what they call a "fake" democratic model.
    In a last-ditch effort to convince them to vote "yes" to the plan, Hong Kong's number two official, Chief Secretary Carrie Lam, said the plan has earned the support of the majority of Hong Kong people.
    The final round of a poll conducted by three Hong Kong universities showed 47 percent of respondents backed the reform proposal, which would allow a direct vote for Hong Kong's next leader in 2017, but only from pre-screened, pro-Beijing candidates, while 38 percent were against. Fifteen percent were undecided.
    "Public opinion is clear. Most Hong Kong people have desired the right to vote for a long time and long to see it being put in place in 2017, so there will be development in our constitutional reform instead of a stalemate," Lam said.
    She also criticized pro-democracy protesters for tearing the society apart when thousands blocked major roads across Hong Kong last year, defying tear gas and pepper spray to press China to honour the promise of universal suffrage.
    "The 79-days-long illegal Occupy movement has deepen the conflict among people with different opinions. It has destroyed the trust between the Central Government and the Special Administrative Region. The society is full of internal conflicts, and is even close to being torn apart. The social order and rule of law have been impaired. The road to universal suffrage used to be wide and straight. Now the road has become thorny and hard to tread," Lam said.
    One of the 27 democrats who have vowed to veto the plan, Alan Leong, said a "fake" universal suffrage with a pre-screening mechanism would only lend false legitimacy to the chosen leader.
    "When Hong Kong people go to the polling station to cast their vote, they are actually being used to justify a screening. This would only give false legitimacy to a Chief Executive who appeared to be elected by one-man-one-vote but was actually appointed by the Central Government. The worst thing is, if Hong Kong people accept this system, it will never be changed," Leung said.
    Hong Kong returned to China in 1997 under a "one country, two systems" formula that gives it a separate legal system and greater freedoms than the party-ruled mainland - and the promise of universal suffrage.
    While flawed, the package is still the most progressive electoral model ever offered by China's leaders in what might be a pilot for other cities within mainland China, according to a source close to Beijing's leadership.
    China's foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang, said the government "really hoped" that the motion would pass.
    "The basic law and the national standing committee's 831 decision establishes a universal suffrage system for selecting the Chief Executive. Apart from ensuring stability, (we) will further improve it over the long term based on Hong Kong's real situation, and taking into account social development and social consensus. We hope, really hope, that the 5 million citizens (that make up) Hong Kong society can fully grasp this opportunity and see this important step toward developing democracy realised," said Lu.
    If the plan is vetoed, Hong Kong's next leader will be selected as before by a 1,200-member committee stacked with pro-Beijing loyalists. Beijing would be unlikely to offer any fresh concessions to Hong Kong anytime soon.
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