By Coconuts Hong Kong October 24, 2014 / 15:15 HKT
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Leaders of Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement have announced that they will hold a referendum on Sunday to gage opinion about whether or not they should accept the offers made by the government in Tuesday’s talks.
In the first meeting between government officials and members of the Hong Kong Federation of Students (HKFS) this week, the government offered to submit a report on the sentiments expressed during the protests to the State Council’s Hong Kong & Macau Affairs Office, not directly to Beijing as many misinterpreted. They also offered to set up a platform to discuss constitutional development.
While some leading pan-democratic politicians have called for Occupy Central, HKFS and Sholarism to seriously consider the offers, those on the street have largely rejected them, saying any report must address the 2017 elections and have an influence on the Standing Committee’s decision.
But in a show of practising democracy democratically, the three groups have decided to put the matter to a vote this weekend. The system, which will just require a mobile phone number and a Hong Kong identity card to cast a ballot, will be headed by the Public Opinion Programme of the University of Hong Kong, the same group that ran the unofficial referendum back in June.
The exact mechanism is yet to be decided on, and whether or not voting can be carried out simultaneously in Mong Kok and Causeway Bay will depend on manpower. However, doubts have been raised by the pan-democrats over whether anti-Occupy protestors will be allowed to vote.
Similarly, the government is said to be concerned about how people will be vetted as eligible to vote and whether those taking part will be given an option to support the government proposal or be limited to a counter proposal from the HKFS.
It all sounds pretty unorganised, but then again, Hong Kong doesn’t have much experience with all this voting malarky .
http://hongkong.coconuts.co/2014/10/24/stand-and-be-counted-hong-kong-democracy-leaders-hold-referendum-government-offer
