http://m.ft.com/cms/s/0/e57acc96-30e9-11e4-b2fd-00144feabdc0.html
By Demetri Sevastopulo in Hong Kong
China has ruled out any public role in the nomination of candidates for Hong Kong chief executive, setting the stage for a battle with pro-democracy activists who want more expansive political rights in the former British colony.
The Chinese government said potential candidates for chief executive must receive majority backing from a nomination committee, which consists of 1,200 mostly pro-Beijing members. It will also allow no more than two or three candidates to run.
China had agreed to introduce “universal suffrage” – one person, one vote – for the 2017 chief executive election. But pro-democracy advocates in Hong Kong argued that the Chinese government would ensure that only people who were sympathetic to Beijing would be allowed to become candidates.
The long-awaited result is almost certain to spark protests across the territory which in recent months has been engaged in a fierce debate about its political future.
Occupy Central, a pro-democracy group backed by media tycoon Jimmy Lai, has vowed to blockade a central business district in Hong Kong if China did not introduce genuine universal suffrage.
