Hong Kong offers vote plan
A committee would pick two or three candidates. Control of selection is protested.
HONG KONG — Hong Kong’s government on Wednesday officially put forth its proposed rules for the territory’s scheduled 2017 election of a chief executive, opening the next chapter in a long-running fight over democratic reforms.
A group of legislators immediately denounced the Beijing-backed plan as undemocratic and vowed to veto it when it comes up for a vote this summer.
The rules would allow a 1,200-member committee to vet candidates, first choosing five to 10 nominees, then whittling that down to two or three to appear on a ballot for the territory’s 5 million eligible voters to decide.
It would be the first time Hong Kongers could cast ballots directly for the top official in the semiautonomous Chinese territory.
Under current rules, the chief executive is chosen directly by a 1,200-member committee.
Yet as soon as Chief Secretary Carrie Lam, Hong Kong’s No. 2 official, had finished delivering the proposal to the territory’s Legislative Council, Alan Leong, the lawmaker who convenes the so-called pan-democratic camp, took to the f loor to decry it.
“This proposal will continue to allow a clique to control the elections and condemn the public to acting as voting automatons,” he said.
Leong then led his kindred colleagues, all wearing black T-shirts emblazoned with a bright yellow crosscheck mark to signify their intended “no” vote, in stomping out of the chamber in protest.
To be adopted, the rules still require the approval of a two-thirds majority in the Legislative Council.
Hong Kong, a former British colony, reverted to Chinese rule 18 years ago under a framework known as “one country, two systems.” The territory of 7.2 million people has its own legislature and is governed under a separate mini-constitution called the Basic Law that enshrines freedoms that, in some cases, aren’t protected elsewhere in China.
In August, the standing committee of China’s National People’s Congress put forth a framework for the 2017 vote that envisioned limiting the choice of candidates to two or three, all approved by a majority of members of a selection committee. Critics say the committee is stacked with probusiness and pro-Beijing members.
The framework touched off a wave of street protests that lasted 10 weeks, with thousands of demonstrators clogging major thoroughfares and surrounding government headquarters.
The sit-ins ended in mid-December after police, acting on a court order, cleared the streets.
The pro-democracy bloc appears to have mustered the numbers to make good on its veto threat. But its four-vote margin will be a prime target as proponents of the new rules package aim to crack the united front.
Officials in Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying’s administration have said they will try to rally public support to persuade some legislators to switch sides before the proposal comes to a vote in July.
Lam warned that this would be Hong Kongers’ only chance for “one person, one vote” in the foreseeable future. If the Legislative Council votes the proposal down, the chief executive will continue to be chosen by the same 1,200-member committee.
“If we remain stuck in the current stalemate, how could it possibly benefit Hong Kong ’s democratic development?” she said.
Leung’s administration appears to have ruled out any further discussions about changes in the proposal. “This is no time for concession but the time for the pan-democrats to allow the proposal to move forward,” Lam said.
“This is hugely disappointing because there was actually room for compromise,” said Willy Lam, a Hong Kong-based political analyst. “This is a decision from Beijing; officials here just toe the line. They have no authority.
“Beijing wants the Hong Kong people to know who is the boss and that it won’t budge even under duress.” Law is a special correspondent.