Hong Kong’s Legislative Council (LegCo) is heading toward a crucial vote on legislature that would reform how the Special Administrative Region elects its chief executive. The Hong Kong government plans to submit its reform package to LegCo for a vote on June 17, which means legislators could be casting their votes by the 19th. Pan-democrat legislators have promised to veto the reform package, while the Hong Kong government is trying hard to sway a few of their number to get the bill through.
The government’s package, which closely adheres to a controversial blueprint from the National People’s Congress Standing Committee in Beijing, would require each candidate for chief executive to be approved by a majority of the 1,200 member nominating committee. Critics of the proposal argue that the nominating committee, which is Beijing-friendly, would thus prevent any pan-democrat candidate from even running for Hong Kong’s highest office. Yet despite large-scale protests last September, both Beijing and the Hong Kong government have stood firm, saying this reform package is the best deal Hong Kong will get.
A recent commentary in China’s state-run news agency, Xinhua, made a similar argument. The piece urges Hong Kong’s legislators to pass the proposal, bringing universal suffrage to Hong Kong’s chief executive elections for the first time. “The opportunity is fleeting, and Hong Kong residents are so close to their dream of electing their chief executive in a ‘one person, one vote’ election,” Xinhua said.
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