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Legislators adopt limited democratic
reform for HK
AFP , HONG KONG
Friday, Jun 25, 2010, Page 1
Hong Kong lawmakers yesterday agreed to enlarge the electoral
base for choosing the territory¡¦s leader, while stopping well short of one
person, one vote for the special administrative region¡¦s 7 million people.
A split in the pro-democracy opposition allowed passage for the first part of a
package of political reforms, to expand the Beijing-backed committee that elects
the chief executive from 800 members now to 1,200 in 2012.
Legislator ¡§Long Hair¡¨ Leung Kwok-hung (±ç°ê¶¯) accused ¡§moderates¡¨ in the
Democratic Party of betrayal, as ¡§hardliners¡¨ vowed to settle for nothing less
than universal suffrage in 2012.
¡§Shameful! Shameful!¡¨ Leung shouted, accusing the Democratic Party of reaching
an underhand deal with the former British colony¡¦s communist overseers in
Beijing.
A total of 46 out of 60 members of the Legislative Council voted for the plan to
enlarge the chief executive¡¦s appointment committee, including eight members of
the Democratic Party ¡X Hong Kong¡¦s oldest opposition group.
Lawmakers were still debating the second half of the reform package ¡X to expand
the Legislative Council itself with the addition of 10 seats, all directly
elected by voters.
That would still leave the legislature heavily influenced by pro-Beijing
business elites, while the chief executive would remain reliant on backing from
the central government in China.
Pro-democracy lawmakers failed to postpone the vote after a day-long debate on
Wednesday that attracted raucous crowds of rival activists, both supporting
universal suffrage and Beijing loyalists.
Scores of police officers, bracing for any possible clashes between the rival
camps, maintained a heavy presence outside the Legislative Council building
yesterday.
¡§We are disappointed that many lawmakers have decided to give up their dreams
for democracy after years of campaigning,¡¨ said Chan King-fai (³¯´º½÷), of the Post
80s, a group of young activists leading the pro-democracy rally.
However, the Democratic Party said the plan was still an important advance for
Hong Kong, whose legal and administrative system remains independent from the
rest of communist China.
Party chairman Albert Ho (¦ó«T¤¯) said protestors who had greeted his lawmakers
with insults and angry gestures had misunderstood them.
¡§My heart felt very heavy. I knew we had to pay a price when we made the
decision to support the plan,¡¨ he said, stressing that the party would continue
its fight for universal suffrage after the reforms go through.
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