http://m.us.wsj.com/articles/beijing-says-panel-to-name-hong-kong-leader-candidates-xinhua-1409472088?mobile=y
August 31, 2014 4:37 AM
Decision Likely to Draw Ire Among Pro-Democracy Camp, Which Had Sought Public Input
BEIJING—China's government declared Sunday that candidates for Hong Kong's top post must be prescreened, effectively barring anyone unpalatable to Beijing from running.
The decision was expected to draw ire from pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong, who have argued that residents should be allowed to directly nominate candidates for the post, and have threatened a mass civil-disobedience campaign if not offered "genuine choice" in 2017 elections.
The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, China's largely ceremonial parliament, said future chief-executive candidates will need to be nominated by a "broadly representative" committee.
It said future chief-executive candidates will need to secure support from at least 50% of members on a nominating committee, and that their numbers would be capped in any given race at two to three candidates.
"Since the long-term prosperity and stability of Hong Kong and the sovereignty, security,and development interests of the country are at stake, there is a need to proceed in a prudent and steady manner," the decision said.
The committee again emphasized that potential candidates must be "patriotic" and "love the country and love Hong Kong," though it left unclear how that would be determined.
The announcement, the details of which had been gleaned in the past week as the NPC meeting progressed, came in response to a report previously submitted by Hong Kong's government regarding electoral reform. Beijing had called a one-person-one-vote system the "ultimate aim" for Hong Kong as it took control of the territory in a 1997 handover from Britain.
Currently, the chief executive is appointed by the central government via a 1,200-member committee heavy on Beijing backers as well as business leaders, many of whom are wary of the potentially destabilizing fallout of confrontation with mainland China. Candidates have until now only needed to get support from one-eighth of the panel, which in 2012 allowed a pro-democracy legislator to run as one of three candidates.
The electoral-reform plan must secure the backing of Beijing, Hong Kong's administration and the city's legislative council to proceed. With just over a third of legislative seats, Hong Kong pro-democracy lawmakers in theory have veto rights. However, after furious lobbying by mainland officials in the week leading up to the decision, it was unclear whether some pro-democracy voices might be swayed to support the plan even without the direct-nomination provision.
Sunday's announcement is almost certain to ratchet up tensions in Hong Kong, where a group of activists called Occupy Central have threatened to shut down the city's main financial district with 10,000 protesters in a series of sit-ins if their demands aren't realized.
A number of student groups have also said they will boycott classes and instead attend teach-ins such as those held on U.S. college campuses during the 2011 Occupy Wall Street protests.
Still, Beijing has made it clear that it believes such activists are a minority and that most Hong Kong residents will ultimately be contented with democratic progress of some form, however limited.
"I hope Hong Kong can have breadth of insight and can see this political reform's considerable significance and influence from the perspective of the country, history and development," Zhang Xiaoming, director of the central government's Liaison Office in Hong Kong, said in a speech earlier this month.
