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| Hong Kong Legislature Rejects Beijing-Backed Election Plan | Hong Kong Legislature Rejects Beijing-Backed Election Plan |
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| HONG KONG — Lawmakers on Thursday rejected a proposal to change how Hong Kong chooses its top official, voting down a Beijing-backed plan that set off huge street protests last year and throwing the territory’s political future into limbo. | HONG KONG — Lawmakers on Thursday rejected a proposal to change how Hong Kong chooses its top official, voting down a Beijing-backed plan that set off huge street protests last year and throwing the territory’s political future into limbo. |
| The plan would have allowed Hong Kong’s five million eligible voters to elect the territory’s chief executive from a choice of two or three candidates, starting in 2017. The measure needed the support of at least two-thirds of Hong Kong’s Legislative Council to pass, and it failed to meet that mark, with 28 of the body’s 70 members voting no. | The plan would have allowed Hong Kong’s five million eligible voters to elect the territory’s chief executive from a choice of two or three candidates, starting in 2017. The measure needed the support of at least two-thirds of Hong Kong’s Legislative Council to pass, and it failed to meet that mark, with 28 of the body’s 70 members voting no. |
| In a twist that spoke to the awkward politics of a freewheeling former British colony ruled at arm’s length by an authoritarian government, the lawmakers who killed the plan were from the pro-democracy camp. | In a twist that spoke to the awkward politics of a freewheeling former British colony ruled at arm’s length by an authoritarian government, the lawmakers who killed the plan were from the pro-democracy camp. |
| They rejected the measure for the same reason tens of thousands of demonstrators paralyzed major portions of the city last year, drawing worldwide attention. The election plan, following strict guidelines set by China’s Communist Party-controlled National People’s Congress, was, according to supporters and detractors alike, designed to ensure that a committee of about 1,200 people dominated by Beijing loyalists could screen out anyone deemed unacceptable to the central government. | They rejected the measure for the same reason tens of thousands of demonstrators paralyzed major portions of the city last year, drawing worldwide attention. The election plan, following strict guidelines set by China’s Communist Party-controlled National People’s Congress, was, according to supporters and detractors alike, designed to ensure that a committee of about 1,200 people dominated by Beijing loyalists could screen out anyone deemed unacceptable to the central government. |
| “Let us show the world that we are not fools,” Claudia Mo, a Hong Kong lawmaker, told her colleagues during the televised debate. “If you want to be true to the words democracy and universal suffrage, ladies and gentlemen, all Hong Kongers, we have no option but to vote against it.” | “Let us show the world that we are not fools,” Claudia Mo, a Hong Kong lawmaker, told her colleagues during the televised debate. “If you want to be true to the words democracy and universal suffrage, ladies and gentlemen, all Hong Kongers, we have no option but to vote against it.” |
| Supporters of the election proposal, including Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying, argued that it was a huge improvement over the current system, under which Mr. Leung and his predecessors were chosen by that same 1,200-person committee, minus the public vote. Supporters also argued that the plan should be adopted now and could be improved in the future. | Supporters of the election proposal, including Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying, argued that it was a huge improvement over the current system, under which Mr. Leung and his predecessors were chosen by that same 1,200-person committee, minus the public vote. Supporters also argued that the plan should be adopted now and could be improved in the future. |
| Mr. Leung said after the vote that he was “disappointed” and faulted the lawmakers who voted no for “denying five million eligible voters the right to elect the chief executive.” | Mr. Leung said after the vote that he was “disappointed” and faulted the lawmakers who voted no for “denying five million eligible voters the right to elect the chief executive.” |
| For all its solemnity and seriousness, the tallying of the votes Thursday was marked by an embarrassing political misstep by the pro-Beijing side. Some members walked out before voting, in an attempt to force a 15-minute delay as they waited for a senior member of their bloc to return to the chamber. But not all the pro-Beijing lawmakers knew about that plan, and the vote went ahead, with the government garnering only eight votes in favor of the election proposal. | For all its solemnity and seriousness, the tallying of the votes Thursday was marked by an embarrassing political misstep by the pro-Beijing side. Some members walked out before voting, in an attempt to force a 15-minute delay as they waited for a senior member of their bloc to return to the chamber. But not all the pro-Beijing lawmakers knew about that plan, and the vote went ahead, with the government garnering only eight votes in favor of the election proposal. |
| The vote was a bitter victory at best for Ms. Mo and the other lawmakers known as pan-democrats. Last year, as China prepared to issue its election proposal, they had hoped that the mere threat of vast sit-in demonstrations would persuade Beijing to set out more generous rules for Hong Kong’s elections that might allow a member of their coalition to appear on the ballot for chief executive. | The vote was a bitter victory at best for Ms. Mo and the other lawmakers known as pan-democrats. Last year, as China prepared to issue its election proposal, they had hoped that the mere threat of vast sit-in demonstrations would persuade Beijing to set out more generous rules for Hong Kong’s elections that might allow a member of their coalition to appear on the ballot for chief executive. |
| Instead, the Chinese legislature issued strict guidelines in August that led to protests bigger than anyone had expected. The demonstrations mushroomed after the police tried to quell them with tear gas, and the protesters occupied parts of the city for months, blocking several key thoroughfares. | Instead, the Chinese legislature issued strict guidelines in August that led to protests bigger than anyone had expected. The demonstrations mushroomed after the police tried to quell them with tear gas, and the protesters occupied parts of the city for months, blocking several key thoroughfares. |
| “This is no cause for celebration,” Joshua Wong, the 18-year-old student leader who became the public face of last year’s street demonstrations, said outside the Legislative Council complex after the vote. “We have defeated a bogus voting plan, but we will have to shift from playing defense to playing offense to get the election that we desire.” | “This is no cause for celebration,” Joshua Wong, the 18-year-old student leader who became the public face of last year’s street demonstrations, said outside the Legislative Council complex after the vote. “We have defeated a bogus voting plan, but we will have to shift from playing defense to playing offense to get the election that we desire.” |
| That may be very difficult, because Beijing must approve any changes to the Basic Law, the mini-constitution that governs Hong Kong until at least 2047. Loyal opposition is not tolerated under China’s Leninist system, and Beijing has made it clear that it will not allow anyone who doesn’t “love China” — that is, a China under Communist Party rule — to appear on the ballot. | |
| Even though the Chinese government has final veto power over any chief executive election in Hong Kong, Beijing would be loath to create a constitutional crisis by rejecting a candidate chosen by the Hong Kong people, said Ma Ngok, a professor of political science at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. “To avoid that, they would rather not let the pan-democrats run in the election,” Mr. Ma said. “That way people cannot vote for them, and they will not win.” | Even though the Chinese government has final veto power over any chief executive election in Hong Kong, Beijing would be loath to create a constitutional crisis by rejecting a candidate chosen by the Hong Kong people, said Ma Ngok, a professor of political science at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. “To avoid that, they would rather not let the pan-democrats run in the election,” Mr. Ma said. “That way people cannot vote for them, and they will not win.” |
| Hong Kong is part of China but retains a great deal of autonomy, including an independent legal system and robust civil liberties, as part of an agreement with Britain that led to the former colony’s return to Chinese sovereignty in 1997. | Hong Kong is part of China but retains a great deal of autonomy, including an independent legal system and robust civil liberties, as part of an agreement with Britain that led to the former colony’s return to Chinese sovereignty in 1997. |
| Those civil liberties were on full display during the Legislative Council’s debate, which started on Wednesday and continued into Thursday afternoon. One lawmaker invoked the 1989 suppression of protests in Tiananmen Square in Beijing, and another, Ms. Mo, said that agents of the Communist Party working in Hong Kong were “goons.” Those comments, if uttered by a Chinese citizen only a few miles north in Guangdong Province, would invite imprisonment. | Those civil liberties were on full display during the Legislative Council’s debate, which started on Wednesday and continued into Thursday afternoon. One lawmaker invoked the 1989 suppression of protests in Tiananmen Square in Beijing, and another, Ms. Mo, said that agents of the Communist Party working in Hong Kong were “goons.” Those comments, if uttered by a Chinese citizen only a few miles north in Guangdong Province, would invite imprisonment. |
| During Hong Kong’s colonial era, London appointed Hong Kong’s governor. But in the Basic Law, Beijing pledged to allow Hong Kong’s people to vote for the chief executive through universal suffrage “upon nomination by a broadly representative nominating committee in accordance with democratic procedures.” | |
| That was supposed to happen in 2017. But with lawmakers having rejected the government’s plan, the earliest that the public could vote for their leader will now be 2022, and only after a lengthy process involving consultations with people in Hong Kong and new guidelines issued by the Chinese legislature. | That was supposed to happen in 2017. But with lawmakers having rejected the government’s plan, the earliest that the public could vote for their leader will now be 2022, and only after a lengthy process involving consultations with people in Hong Kong and new guidelines issued by the Chinese legislature. |
| Pro-Beijing politicians say that the Chinese government, having seen its preferred plan rejected, will not move to set more generous terms. | Pro-Beijing politicians say that the Chinese government, having seen its preferred plan rejected, will not move to set more generous terms. |
| Instead, some seasoned Hong Kong politicians say the most realistic way forward is to start with incremental changes to the 1,200-member committee that picks the chief executive, giving more people a say in who gets to sit on that panel, and changing its structure to make it more representative of Hong Kong society. Such changes would not require the approval of the central government in Beijing, said Anson Chan, who served as Hong Kong’s No. 2 official in the last colonial administration and in the first post-1997 government. | Instead, some seasoned Hong Kong politicians say the most realistic way forward is to start with incremental changes to the 1,200-member committee that picks the chief executive, giving more people a say in who gets to sit on that panel, and changing its structure to make it more representative of Hong Kong society. Such changes would not require the approval of the central government in Beijing, said Anson Chan, who served as Hong Kong’s No. 2 official in the last colonial administration and in the first post-1997 government. |
| Currently, the committee is far from representative. In highly urbanized Hong Kong, long-abandoned rice paddies lie fallow and water buffalo run free, without masters. Yet when the committee last selected a chief executive, in 2012, one of the biggest groups of electors on the panel — 60 people in the last election — represented the agriculture and fisheries industries, far more than the 36 representing the finance industry in Asia’s most important financial hub. | Currently, the committee is far from representative. In highly urbanized Hong Kong, long-abandoned rice paddies lie fallow and water buffalo run free, without masters. Yet when the committee last selected a chief executive, in 2012, one of the biggest groups of electors on the panel — 60 people in the last election — represented the agriculture and fisheries industries, far more than the 36 representing the finance industry in Asia’s most important financial hub. |
| “The next few months, I think we should all be spending our energy on looking at what could possibly be going into local legislation that will make the election committee somewhat more palatable,” Mrs. Chan said by telephone. “We just have to put our shoulders to the wheel and get everybody going.” | “The next few months, I think we should all be spending our energy on looking at what could possibly be going into local legislation that will make the election committee somewhat more palatable,” Mrs. Chan said by telephone. “We just have to put our shoulders to the wheel and get everybody going.” |