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.
© 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur 
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