Political tensions continue to rise in Hong Kong. Pro-democracy legislators are promising to block China’s plan for electoral reform in the territory. The plan calls for electing a city leader from a list of candidates approved by the central government in Beijing. Democracy activists say they will travel throughout Hong Kong over the next several weeks. They want to convince people to support the direct election of Hong Kong’s chief executive. Last year, pro-democracy activists shut down parts of the city for months.
Earlier this year, Hong Kong’s government released a plan for election reform that is almost exactly the same as one proposed by China. It lets people vote for the city’s leader. But they can only choose from a list of candidates chosen by a committee loyal to the Chinese central government.
Emily Lau is the head of Hong Kong’s Democracy Party. She says she and other pro-democracy lawmakers will not permit the plan to be approved.
“I think the proposal by the Hong Kong government is not good enough. It doesn’t meet even basic demands of a genuine democratic election. So we are going to vote against it. I think many of the pro-democracy legislators in the legislative council are going to vote against it.”
Full Article: Hong Kong Lawmakers Promise to Block Election Plan.