Beijing's plan to dictate policy on political reform in Hong Kong will stifle the push for democracy and undermine the territory's rule of law, critics charged.
"If they cannot twist people's wishes, they will twist the law," said Law Yuk-kai, director of the Hong Kong Human Rights Monitor, a non-governmental organization.
China stunned Hong Kong by saying Friday night that its most powerful legislative panel would "interpret" provisions of Hong Kong's mini-constitution that spell out how the territory's leader and lawmakers are chosen.
That effectively means Beijing will set the pace for any political reforms. Pro-democracy figures believe Beijing is deliberately quashing their hopes that Hong Kong people could choose their leader and all lawmakers in the next few years.
"It completely kills the discussion on democratic reforms in Hong Kong," said labor activist and lawmaker Lee Cheuk-yan.
Pro-democracy activists plan a candlelight vigil on Thursday against Beijing's plan, while a small group of young people protested outside China's representative office in Hong Kong yesterday.
Hong Kong's people are demanding more democracy -- in a system that currently gives them no say on picking their leader though ordinary residents choose some lawmakers. Full democracy was set out as an eventual goal when Hong Kong was returned from Britain to China in July 1997, but there is no timetable.
The push for universal suffrage gained momentum on July 1, when 500,000 people marched and forced Hong Kong Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa (董建華) to withdraw an anti-subversion bill that many viewed as a threat to freedom.
The protest launched a "people power" movement that rattled Tung and left Beijing unsettled. Now, Tung and Beijing are fretting over legislative elections in September, when ordinary voters can fill 30 of the 60 seats, up from 24 last time.
Special interest groups choose the rest, an arrangement that previously has ensured the Legislative Council will support Tung's government. This time, it's possible Hong Kong will get a legislature that won't back Tung.
China's state-run Xinhua News Agency said Friday night that the powerful Standing Committee of the National People's Congress plans soon to "give interpretations" on Hong Kong's mini-constitution relating to the selection of the territory's leader and legislators.
Xinhua quoted a Chinese legal expert as saying the interpretation will have "the same kind of power as the Basic Law itself."
Tung had been informed just hours earlier, but he contended Beijing's involvement would provide a welcome resolution to the raging controversy over democracy.
"By doing this they will be able to help us to move forward in our discussion, to avoid endless wrangling," Tung told a brief news conference, flanked by his chief secretary, his justice secretary and his constitutional affairs secretary.
Beijing's plans to issue a legal "interpretation" of the law recalled its decision to overturn Hong Kong's top court in a 1999 immigration case.
AIR SUPPORT: The Ministry of National Defense thanked the US for the delivery, adding that it was an indicator of the White House’s commitment to the Taiwan Relations Act Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) and Representative to the US Alexander Yui on Friday attended a delivery ceremony for the first of Taiwan’s long-awaited 66 F-16C/D Block 70 jets at a Lockheed Martin Corp factory in Greenville, South Carolina. “We are so proud to be the global home of the F-16 and to support Taiwan’s air defense capabilities,” US Representative William Timmons wrote on X, alongside a photograph of Taiwanese and US officials at the event. The F-16C/D Block 70 jets Taiwan ordered have the same capabilities as aircraft that had been upgraded to F-16Vs. The batch of Lockheed Martin
GRIDLOCK: The National Fire Agency’s Special Search and Rescue team is on standby to travel to the countries to help out with the rescue effort A powerful earthquake rocked Myanmar and neighboring Thailand yesterday, killing at least three people in Bangkok and burying dozens when a high-rise building under construction collapsed. Footage shared on social media from Myanmar’s second-largest city showed widespread destruction, raising fears that many were trapped under the rubble or killed. The magnitude 7.7 earthquake, with an epicenter near Mandalay in Myanmar, struck at midday and was followed by a strong magnitude 6.4 aftershock. The extent of death, injury and destruction — especially in Myanmar, which is embroiled in a civil war and where information is tightly controlled at the best of times —
Taiwan was ranked the fourth-safest country in the world with a score of 82.9, trailing only Andorra, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar in Numbeo’s Safety Index by Country report. Taiwan’s score improved by 0.1 points compared with last year’s mid-year report, which had Taiwan fourth with a score of 82.8. However, both scores were lower than in last year’s first review, when Taiwan scored 83.3, and are a long way from when Taiwan was named the second-safest country in the world in 2021, scoring 84.8. Taiwan ranked higher than Singapore in ninth with a score of 77.4 and Japan in 10th with
China's military today said it began joint army, navy and rocket force exercises around Taiwan to "serve as a stern warning and powerful deterrent against Taiwanese independence," calling President William Lai (賴清德) a "parasite." The exercises come after Lai called Beijing a "foreign hostile force" last month. More than 10 Chinese military ships approached close to Taiwan's 24 nautical mile (44.4km) contiguous zone this morning and Taiwan sent its own warships to respond, two senior Taiwanese officials said. Taiwan has not yet detected any live fire by the Chinese military so far, one of the officials said. The drills took place after US Secretary
RSS