Leung urges pan-democrats to accept reforms
The Hong Kong government on Wednesday unveiled an election reform blueprint for the Special Administrative Region's (SAR) next top leader through universal suffrage in 2017.
The plan, announced by the Chief Secretary Carrie Lam at the Legislative Council (LegCo), lowered the criteria for one to become a potential candidate for chief executive.
Under the proposal, a potential candidate needs to get the support of at least 120 and no more than 240 members of the nominating committee, which is composed of 1,200 people from four constituencies.
The requirement is down from the previous 150-vote threshold.
Lam said the election method is more democratic and offers greater competition. She said that people from different camps, including the pan-democracy group, will have a chance to become a candidate under the method.
According to Lam, the five to 10 people recommended will be reduced to two to three selected through a secret ballot as official candidates. The 5 million eligible Hong Kong voters will then elect the region's top leader from the candidates through a "one person, one vote" system.
Lam described universal suffrage for the first time in Hong Kong history as "not only a great leap forward for Hong Hong's constitutional development, but also an historic moment for our country."
Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying also said earlier on Wednesday that it is an important milestone for Hong Kong's democratic development, and the package is in line with the Basic Law, the SAR's constitutional document, and China's top legislature's decision on August 31 last year.
However, the plan will only be reviewed by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC) to further proceed after being endorsed by a two-thirds majority of all 70 members of the LegCo in June.
It's the third step in Hong Kong's "five-step" process of constitutional development and also viewed as the most challenging step for Hong Kong to realize universal suffrage in 2017, due to concerns that some pan-democratic members will veto the plan.
Speaking before the legislature, Leung urged pan-democrat lawmakers to support the reforms, adding that it could be years before the electoral reform undergoes another step forward.
While Lam was announcing the blueprint, around 17 LegCo members walked out, vowing to veto the plan.
They are against public opinion and some will gradually change under pressure from their supporters, LegCo member Chung Shu-kun told the Global Times, expressing optimism over the proposal's approval.
In a poll conducted in January by Hong Kong University's opinion center, over 56 percent said they would agree with the reform plan of "one person, one vote" and over 60 percent said they would accept the plan if it is improved after 2017.
Hong Kong people want universal suffrage, said LegCo member Tien Puk-sun, noting that Lam's report clearly stated that the electoral method could be modified and improved by order of the chief executive after 2017.
Tien said he will remind the public of that point when speaks before them.
There will be chances to improve the plan and voters will realize the pan-democrats are not taking any practical steps by simply requesting "true democracy," Tien said.
On Wednesday afternoon, a group of 41 LegCo members expressed their support for the plan, Xinhua reported.
The plan was made under a framework issued by the NPC on August 31 last year. The NPC allowed the nomination of two to three candidates by a "broadly representative" nominating committee under universal suffrage from 2017 onward.
Thousands of protesters, arguing that the NPC decision would not bring "true democracy," immediately occupied major roads in the city. The movement lasted over two months.
The movement was illegal and for most Hong Kong people it brought inconvenience and affected businesses and had a negative impact on tourism, and people were less confident in pan-democrats, said Tian Feilong, a visiting law scholar at Hong Kong University.
"I think it is unlikely that another long-lasting protest like the 'Occupy Central' will take place again," Tian said.
