Hong Kong (AsiaNews/Agencies) – After a meeting with representatives of the Chinese government that lasted more than four hours, Hong Kong’s pro-democracy lawmakers announced that they plan to veto China’s controversial electoral reform for the former British colony.
“We came here . . . trying to find a way out of the impasse,” Civic Party leader Alan Leong said. However, “We are left with an unequivocal conclusion that the central people’s government is not going to yield. We are therefore left with no choice but to definitely veto the government proposal.”
The meeting, which took place in the southern city of Shenzhen, was initially set for 4 June, when Hong Kong commemorates the martyrs of Tiananmen Square.
The protests triggered by this decision convinced the Chinese government to anticipate the event, but even doing so, results were not positive.
The reasons for this lies in a decision taken in August 2014 by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress to draft an electoral reform bill for Hong Kong, which is identical to the one presented by the Hong Kong government.
In practice, mainland China wants to pick the candidates for the office of Chief Executive, allowing Hong Kong voters to choose from a list of two or three candidates screened by an election committee made up of members close to China.
After Beijing’s pronouncement, tens of thousands of people joined the ‘Occupy Central with Peace and Love’ movement, which peacefully held in check the local government for months, asking for real democratic reform.
Things now are at a standstill. To be approved, the proposal also needs the vote of some pro-democracy lawmakers.
If the draft proposal is rejected it is unclear what will happen. Certainly, the election for chief executive in 2017 will take place under current rules, i.e. by an Election Committee whose members are selected or elected within a number of functional constituencies.