Dec 18, 2007, 3:01 GMT
Hong Kong - China's top political policy-making body will next week make key decisions on the pace of democratization in Hong Kong, a news report said Tuesday.
The National People's Congress, which holds a week-long meeting in Beijing from Sunday, is likely to allow for universal suffrage for the position of chief executive from 2017, the South China Morning Post reported.
However, the decision will do little to appease pro-democracy activists in the former British colony who want full democracy from 2012 and say opinion polls show popular support for early universal suffrage.
The standing committee of the National People's Congress is next week expected to approve minor changes to the way the next election for chief executive in 2012 is conducted, the newspaper reported.
It will rule out universal suffrage in 2012, however, but leave the door open for a free vote for the position of chief executive in 2017, the newspaper said, quoting Beijing sources.
Hong Kong leader Donald Tsang last week put forward a paper to Beijing recommending universal suffrage for the position of chief executive in 2017 but no universal suffrage for all legislators until at least 2020.
In announcing the proposals, which follow a half-year consultation over political reforms, Tsang conceded that more than half of Hong Kong people wanted universal suffrage for the next chief executive election in 2012.
However, he said that implementing it no later than 2017 would stand 'a better chance of being accepted by the majority in our community.'
Only half of Hong Kong's 60 legislators are currently directly elected and elections are held every four years with the next election after the 2017 chief executive poll scheduled for 2020.
Hong Kong's chief executive is currently chosen by an 800-member, largely pro-Beijing election committee which picked Tsang for a five year term in March after he was given China's backing for the post.
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