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.
Tropical Storm Usagi strengthened to a typhoon yesterday morning and remains on track to brush past southeastern Taiwan from tomorrow to Sunday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was approximately 950km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost point, the CWA said. It is expected to enter the Bashi Channel and then turn north, moving into waters southeast of Taiwan, it said. The agency said it could issue a sea warning in the early hours of today and a land warning in the afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was moving at
DISCONTENT: The CCP finds positive content about the lives of the Chinese living in Taiwan threatening, as such video could upset people in China, an expert said Chinese spouses of Taiwanese who make videos about their lives in Taiwan have been facing online threats from people in China, a source said yesterday. Some young Chinese spouses of Taiwanese make videos about their lives in Taiwan, often speaking favorably about their living conditions in the nation compared with those in China, the source said. However, the videos have caught the attention of Chinese officials, causing the spouses to come under attack by Beijing’s cyberarmy, they said. “People have been messing with the YouTube channels of these Chinese spouses and have been harassing their family members back in China,”
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said there are four weather systems in the western Pacific, with one likely to strengthen into a tropical storm and pose a threat to Taiwan. The nascent tropical storm would be named Usagi and would be the fourth storm in the western Pacific at the moment, along with Typhoon Yinxing and tropical storms Toraji and Manyi, the CWA said. It would be the first time that four tropical cyclones exist simultaneously in November, it added. Records from the meteorology agency showed that three tropical cyclones existed concurrently in January in 1968, 1991 and 1992.
UPDATED FORECAST: The warning covered areas of Pingtung County and Hengchun Peninsula, while a sea warning covering the southern Taiwan Strait was amended The Central Weather Administration (CWA) at 5:30pm yesterday issued a land warning for Typhoon Usagi as the storm approached Taiwan from the south after passing over the Philippines. As of 5pm, Usagi was 420km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost tip, with an average radius of 150km, the CWA said. The land warning covered areas of Pingtung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春), and came with an amended sea warning, updating a warning issued yesterday morning to cover the southern part of the Taiwan Strait. No local governments had announced any class or office closures as of press time last night. The typhoon
RSS