MCLC: HK lawmakers debate election plan

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MCLC LIST
HK lawmakers debate election plan
Source: Sinosphere, NYT (6/17/15)
Hong Kong Lawmakers Begin Debate Over Election Plan,
By AUSTIN RAMZY
Protesters, police officers and lawmakers converged on Hong Kong’s Legislative Council on Wednesday as debate began on a plan to change the way the semiautonomous Chinese territory will choose its leader beginning in 2017.
The package would allow a direct vote for the next chief executive, who would have previously been chosen by a largely pro-government panel that now has 1,200 members. Supporters of the plan say that it would dramatically expand voters’ say over who governs their city.
Detractors, including the 27 members of the legislature’s pan-democrat camp, say that restrictions on who can appear on the ballot — a committee of 1,200 would control nominations — mean the proposed system falls short of “true” universal suffrage. They plan to veto the package, which needs the support of at least 47 of the legislature’s 70 members to pass.
The security presence in and around the Legislative Council is high after heated protests over the proposed changes. Last year demonstrators occupied the area around the government complex and major roadways for weeks. A small protest camp has remained outside the legislative building since.
Jasper Tsang Yok-sing, the Legislative Council president, announced on Tuesday that the police would be allowed to enter the building ahead of the debate because of anticipated protests from both sides and the risk of the complex “being stormed by radical groups.”
Hundreds of pro-government supporters, including many elderly people, gathered outside the Legislative Council building on Wednesday. They were grouped by neighborhood association and were equipped for the blistering sun with hats and water bottles. A few opponents of the bill stood mostly on the periphery and were closely watched by the police.
The lawmakers’ debate, which could involve more than 17 hours of speeches if each of the 70 members uses the allotted 15 minutes of speaking time, is being carried live on the Legislative Council’s website, with simultaneous English and Mandarin interpretation.
Ronny Tong, a moderate democrat from the Civic Party who is likely to vote against the proposal, said the expected result — the electoral plan’s defeat — would see no winners.
“I opened my computer this morning and found a long, very well-written letter from a student,” Mr. Tong told reporters on Wednesday before the debate began. “The student hopes that I could support the proposal.”
“Everybody is a loser today,” he said. “I just hope it’s not a total loss. I hope we will have the chance to fight in the legislature for electoral reform that people can accept.”
Top government officials made last-ditch efforts on Wednesday to try to persuade pan-democratic legislators to change their mind.
“My team and I have worked on this for 20 months,” said Carrie Lam, the No. 2 official in the Hong Kong government, recounting more than a hundred town-hall meetings, visits to neighborhoods and meet-the-press sessions. “We have come against much criticism, mockery and even insults.”
“We have made our best effort and come up with the best and most practical proposal,” she said. “It’s always better to have a vote in your hand than nothing, and progress to universal suffrage is better than a standstill.”
Alan Wong and Michael Forsythe contributed reporting.
by denton.2 at osu.edu on June 17, 2015
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