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Beijing to allow universal suffrage in Hong Kong election, Chief Executive nominations to be controlled

 
Hong Kong opposition parties, pro-democracy movements reject China's National People's Congress decision · Committee likely to be made up of few more than 1,000 people to decide over who will be allowed to stand for Chief Executive post · Democratic Party leader compares system with North Korea

The pro-democratic opposition in Hong Kong announced fresh protests after China's National People's Congress decided that the candidates nomination for the upcoming 2017 Hong Kong Cihef Executive election will not be a free one. That is, contrary to what hundreds of thousands of Hong Kong citizens had claimed on July 1st, only candidates approved by a "broadly representative" -in Beijing's words- committee will be allowed to run for the Hong Kongese head of government post.

This "broadly representative" committee has in fact already been used in previous elections in Hong Kong, the most recent one in 2012. Beijing said the 2017 body will be formed along similar lines. The 2012 committee was made up by 1,200 people, out of a total Hong Kong population of over 7 million people. The pro-democracy camp (Hong Kong opposition parties and the Occupy Central movement) believe that committee is de facto controlled by Beijing.

This being so, the pro-democracy camp argues that China allowing for the first time universal suffrage for the Chief Executive election will change little in the former UK colony politics. Emily Lau Wai-hing, Chairwoman of the Hong Kong Democratic Party (center-left Liberal) compared the situation in Hong Kong with the existing system in North Korea: "[This universal suffrage] is one person, one vote, but there is no choice. They have that in North Korea but you can't call it democracy."

Occupy Central announces fresh protests

Shortly after the decision by the National People's Congress was known, the Occupy Central movement announced new demonstrations will be called. In fact, earlier on Monday some riots occured during a pro-democracy protest that ended up with the police dispersing the protesters. The leader of the Hong Kong Federation of Students also announced pro-democracy mobilizations by students.

Hong Kong -and Macau- enjoy a partially autonomous status within China. The status was granted to Hong Kong after China regained sovereignty of the territory in 1997, when the UK withdrew from it.

(Image: Hong Kong / Picture by Haydn Hsin.)

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