AP December 30, 2007
Beijing regime may allow Hong Kong to directly elect its leader by 2017 and all
its lawmakers by 2020, the territory's chief executive said yesterday, sparking
protests by democracy activists who sought an earlier date.
"A timetable for obtaining universal suffrage has been set," Chief Executive
Donald Tsang (曾蔭權) said. "Hong Kong is entering the most important chapter of
its constitutional history."
Beijing regime had last week been debating Hong Kong's political development and
in an announcement carried by Xinhua news agency yesterday said it could allow
direct elections for the territory's leader in 2017. Direct elections for all
lawmakers could follow, it said, without giving a date, although Tsang said he
would aim for 2020.
The announcement dealt a blow to Hong Kong's pro-democracy camp who had
campaigned heavily for full democracy in 2012, the date of the next leadership
and legislative polls.
Several hundred people marched through central Hong Kong to protest the
decision, saying they had been cheated out of their right to full democracy.
Holding banners that read "democracy delayed is democracy denied" they accused
Beijing regime of failing to listen to the wishes of Hong Kong's 7 million
people.
"We are extremely disappointed -- you could say we are furious -- about this
decision in ruling out 2012," Democrat Party Chairman Albert Ho (何俊仁) told the
Hong Kong government-run RTHK radio station.
"The wishes of the Hong Kong people have been totally ignored," he said.
When Hong Kong was annexed by China in 1997, it was granted a wide degree of
autonomy and a pledge that it would ultimately be allowed to directly elect all
of its legislators and its leader, although no date was ever given.
Only half of the 60-seat legislature is elected and the territory's top leader,
or chief executive, is chosen by an 800-strong committee full of autocratic
Beijing loyalists.
In calling for direct elections in 2012, opposition democrats say the bustling
financial center is mature enough to choose its own government. But Beijing
regime and its allies in Hong Kong's legislature have appealed for a more
gradual approach.
Tsang urged all parties to put aside their differences and start thinking about
how to implement direct elections for the chief executive in 2017.
"We must treasure this hard-earned opportunity," he said.
A taskforce will be set up to discuss how to amend electoral methods, with the
first changes made in 2012, he said at the news conference.