The number of Hong Kong people who believe they will have free elections by 2007 has fallen sharply after a war of words over whether the territory is ready for democracy, according to a survey published yesterday.
Only 19 percent of people interviewed said they believed there would be universal suffrage for the position of chief executive by 2007 and for all legislators by 2008, compared to 28 percent and 39 percent respectively in an identical poll late last year.
The percentage of people supporting free elections has also fallen with just over 60 percent of interviewees supporting them compared to three out of four last year, the University of Hong Kong survey found.
The rising tide of pessimism follows months of ferocious debate over political reform in Hong Kong after 500,000 people took part in an anti-government march last July and 100,000 more demanded a timetable for democracy on Jan. 1.
Hong Kong's mini-constitution, the Basic Law, allows for free elections beginning in 2007 but does not specify a timetable.
Currently, the chief executive is chosen by a pro-Beijing election committee and only a minority of legislators is directly elected.
Beijing has now made it clear it does not believe Hong Kong is ready for democracy as early as 2007 and branded pro-democracy legislator Martin Lee a traitor for giving evidence on the debate to a US Senate committee in Washington earlier this month.
The university poll, published in yesterday's South China Morning Post, included interviews with over 1,000 people. It is the eighth monthly poll in a series that began last July when 43 percent of Hong Kong people expected to see direct legislative elections by 2008.
Poll organizer Robert Chung told the newspaper that most people still supported universal suffrage, but added: "In spite of such strong support, very few people actually expect such demands to materialize."
Pro-democracy campaigners are planning another mass demonstration in Hong Kong on July 1, the anniversary of the march which drew 500,000, at which they expect up to 1 million to protest.
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