Hong Kong: Hong Kong on Sunday held by-elections
triggered by pro-democracy lawmakers seeking to pressure
Beijing into speeding up the pace of electoral reform in the
territory.
The election, which has angered Beijing and divided the
city's democracy movement, comes after five lawmakers from the
Legislative Council quit in January in a bid to force a de
facto referendum on reform.
Frustrated by what they say is China's intransigence, the
lawmakers had hoped that the move -- which will likely see
them all re-elected -- would send the strongest message yet to
Beijing since Hong Kong returned to Chinese rule in 1997.
However, the outcome of the vote is seen as academic
since all pro-Beijing political parties have boycotted the
process.
Under the current electoral system, only half of Hong
Kong's 60-seat legislature is directly elected while the rest
is selected by the pro-China business elite. Campaigners want
the entire parliament to be directly elected.
They also want voters to be able to choose the city's
chief executive, who is currently appointed by a
Beijing-friendly election committee.
Beijing has said that, at the earliest, Hong Kong's chief
executive can be directly elected by 2017 and the legislature
by 2020.
PTI
First Published: Sunday, May 16, 2010, 22:12