Hong Kong | Thousands march against Beijing-backed election plan

People march in a downtown street yesterday to support a veto of the government’s electoral reform package in Hong Kong

Thousands of people joined a march in Hong Kong to demand that lawmakers reject a China-backed plan for the city’s first direct chief executive election amid growing public opposition to the bill.
The protesters rallied at the city’s Victoria Park at 3 p.m. yesterday before starting a march that drew increasing numbers as it made its way toward the government headquarters. Organizers of the demonstration, who want to remove proposed restrictions on election nominees, have called on people to congregate outside the Legislative Council building this week to pressure lawmakers.
Popular opposition to a bill that will be presented to the legislature Wednesday, which calls for 2017 election candidates to be picked by a nominating committee, has jumped to 43.4 percent of those surveyed by a coalition of universities. Chief Executive Leung Chun-
ying needs four pro-democracy lawmakers to vote for the bill and provide a two-thirds majority for passage.
“We need to show the Chinese government that Hong Kong people’s desire for genuine universal suffrage cannot be suppressed,” Nathan Law, secretary-general of the Hong Kong Federation of Students, told the Victoria Park gathering. “Hong Kong people want the true right to choose our chief executive.”
Pro-democracy activists have mocked the plan as “fake democracy” as they said the 1,200-member nominating committee is stacked with Beijing loyalists. Vetting is required under the city’s de facto constitution, Leung and the Chinese government have said.
The bill will be presented to the legislature on Wednesday for debate before voting. Carrie Lam – the city’s No. 2 official – sees “zero” chance for legislation to get through because all pro-democracy lawmakers have pledged to vote against it, the Hong Kong Economic Times reported on Friday.
“We believe the proposal will be rejected,” Law said. “If the reform is passed, we believe there will be a chaos as people may escalate their action.”
Scholarism – a student group taking part in the march – has vowed to escalate protest actions should the bill pass. Public anger over China’s outline for the proposal last year led to 79 days of protests, dubbed the Umbrella Movement, and violent fights with the police.
The government is spending HKD5 million (USD645,000) on public meetings, television ads, and posters blanketing trains and buses to win support for the plan. Opposition has been rising since hitting a low of 34.5 percent on May 31, the same day top Beijing officials told a group of pro-democracy lawmakers there was no chance of modifying the proposed framework, which, if passed, would apply to all future elections in Hong Kong.
The share of those who support the proposal has declined to 41.6 percent, according to a tracking poll conducted by three local universities.
“No matter what I say now, it’s probably not going to change anything. But I still believe in pursuing democracy and when facing differences, we can’t just compare who’s got more support and strength,” Financial Secretary John Tsang wrote in his Blog yesterday. “We need a balance and compromise in order to reach a consensus that the majority can accept.”
More than 7,000 police will be deployed during the electoral bill vote to prevent any new occupation, and they will be prepared to use teargas and pepper spray if any demonstrations turn violent, the South China Morning Post reported June 2, citing unidentified police officers.
If the China-backed plan fails, the city’s top leader will continue to be selected by a committee of 1,200 business, political and social elite, which has hewed to Beijing’s interests.
One of yesterday’s protesters, Tung Lam, a 28-year-old civil servant, said the marchers came out to support lawmakers voting against the proposal.
“China doesn’t listen to what Hong Kong people want,” Tung said. “We are here for Hong Kong’s future.” Natasha Khan and Alfred Liu, Bloomberg