Less than half of Hong Kong’s residents back electoral reforms that would see a pro-China nominating committee select candidates for the next leader in 2017, results of a survey suggested, after protests demanding open nominations crippled parts of the territory last year.
Only 47 percent of the 1,167 people surveyed were in favor of the proposal, which outlines a two-step process for the territory’s 1,200-strong nominating committee to select two or three candidates for chief executive ahead of a public vote.
The Chinese National People’s Congress in August last year said it would screen candidates who want to run in the 2017 election for chief executive. Democracy activists said this rendered the notion of universal suffrage meaningless.
It was the first public opinion survey since Hong Kong officials published their electoral blueprint last week, and comes ahead of a vote on the controversial proposal by lawmakers in early summer.
The Hong Kong government has forged ahead with the Chinese plan. Pan-democratic lawmakers hold a veto majority in the Legislative Council and have vowed to vote it down.
Government officials have said a veto would have dire consequences for the territory’s political development.
Hong Kong’s first chief executive under Chinese rule, Tung Chee-hwa (董建華), who has close ties to Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), told reporters that the government’s proposal was a big step forward.
“At this stage there is no compromise. There is yes or no, take it or don’t take it,” Tung said. “I and many others will do our level best to make sure this is passed.”
Thirty-eight percent of those surveyed said they were against the proposal and 16 percent were undecided, according to the survey, which was sponsored by NOW TV and conducted by three Hong Kong universities.
The proposal was least popular among better-educated young people. Fifty-five percent of those surveyed with a college education or above were against the proposal, while 63 percent of those between the ages of 18 and 29 were against it.
Students led tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters into the streets last summer, shutting down major roads in Hong Kong for two-and-a-half months. The protesters demanded open nominations in addition to a vote.
DITCH TACTICS: Kenyan officers were on their way to rescue Haitian police stuck in a ditch suspected to have been deliberately dug by Haitian gang members A Kenyan policeman deployed in Haiti has gone missing after violent gangs attacked a group of officers on a rescue mission, a UN-backed multinational security mission said in a statement yesterday. The Kenyan officers on Tuesday were on their way to rescue Haitian police stuck in a ditch “suspected to have been deliberately dug by gangs,” the statement said, adding that “specialized teams have been deployed” to search for the missing officer. Local media outlets in Haiti reported that the officer had been killed and videos of a lifeless man clothed in Kenyan uniform were shared on social media. Gang violence has left
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
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
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
RSS