A leading Hong Kong democrat barred from China may be granted entry as part of a peace deal to end a long-running political feud, an English-language newspaper reported yesterday.
Pro-democracy legislator Martin Lee (
More hardline democrats, like Szeto Wah (
Lee said he had not been approached by mainland officials.
"I have openly stated my dream of going to the mainland. However, it is not worthwhile trying to realize my dream if it will polarize the democrats and Democratic Party," he was quoted as saying.
Lee has been banned from entering China, where his family originated, since he denounced the June 4, 1989, massacre of pro-democracy citizens and students in and around Tiananmen Square.
He has cited the ban as evidence of China's unwillingness to discuss political progress in Hong Kong.
The source told The Standard that Lee was included on the list after he introduced a goodwill motion in the Legislative Council last Wednesday, urging people to work with the government.
If true, the move could signal a thaw in the long conflict between democrats and the city's rulers in Beijing over electoral reforms in the former British colony.
Tensions escalated in April after Beijing rejected public demands for direct elections by 2007, when the next chief executive is set to be be chosen.
Both sides have begun making conciliatory gestures to win over moderate voters ahead of crucial legislative elections later this year.
Democrats fear the conflict will discourage voters from going to the polls on September 12, while China wants to win undecided electors over to pro-Bei-jing parties.
Victory for democrats could result in government gridlock and would cause further image problems for China.
In the latest round of tension-easing, democrats agreed to drop their "give power to the people" slogan at a pro-democracy rally Thursday for fear it would give the impression they supported independence from China.
An unnamed "leading official" of the Chinese representative office in the city welcomed Lee's call for unity and cooperation. He also said his move was positive and good for "social harmony."
Beijing's charm offensive has been partly motivated to defuse expectations for Thursday's July 1 rally, which like last year's anti-Beijing march is expected to attract hundreds of thousands.
As part of this public relations blitz, Tung has promised to listen more to the democracy camp.
A fire caused by a burst gas pipe yesterday spread to several homes and sent a fireball soaring into the sky outside Malaysia’s largest city, injuring more than 100 people. The towering inferno near a gas station in Putra Heights outside Kuala Lumpur was visible for kilometers and lasted for several hours. It happened during a public holiday as Muslims, who are the majority in Malaysia, celebrate the second day of Eid al-Fitr. National oil company Petronas said the fire started at one of its gas pipelines at 8:10am and the affected pipeline was later isolated. Disaster management officials said shutting the
US Vice President J.D. Vance on Friday accused Denmark of not having done enough to protect Greenland, when he visited the strategically placed and resource-rich Danish territory coveted by US President Donald Trump. Vance made his comment during a trip to the Pituffik Space Base in northwestern Greenland, a visit viewed by Copenhagen and Nuuk as a provocation. “Our message to Denmark is very simple: You have not done a good job by the people of Greenland,” Vance told a news conference. “You have under-invested in the people of Greenland, and you have under-invested in the security architecture of this
Japan unveiled a plan on Thursday to evacuate around 120,000 residents and tourists from its southern islets near Taiwan within six days in the event of an “emergency”. The plan was put together as “the security situation surrounding our nation grows severe” and with an “emergency” in mind, the government’s crisis management office said. Exactly what that emergency might be was left unspecified in the plan but it envisages the evacuation of around 120,000 people in five Japanese islets close to Taiwan. China claims Taiwan as part of its territory and has stepped up military pressure in recent years, including
UNREST: The authorities in Turkey arrested 13 Turkish journalists in five days, deported a BBC correspondent and on Thursday arrested a reporter from Sweden Waving flags and chanting slogans, many hundreds of thousands of anti-government demonstrators on Saturday rallied in Istanbul, Turkey, in defence of democracy after the arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu which sparked Turkey’s worst street unrest in more than a decade. Under a cloudless blue sky, vast crowds gathered in Maltepe on the Asian side of Turkey’s biggest city on the eve of the Eid al-Fitr celebration which started yesterday, marking the end of Ramadan. Ozgur Ozel, chairman of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), which organized the rally, said there were 2.2 million people in the crowd, but
RSS