Hong Kong Proposes Democratic Reforms for Legislative Council
June 24, 2010
By: Randi Zung

For the first time in Hong Kong’s history, some of the members of the country’s legislative branch may soon be elected by popular vote.  For the changes to take effect, two-thirds of the Legislative Council (Legco), which is comprised of 60 members, must approve the bill.  A preliminary vote earlier in the week indicated that the proposed changes are expected to be approved, the New York Times reported.  Commenting on the country’s democratic progress, chief executive of Hong Kong Donald Tsang stated, “After two decades of protracted argument over constitutional reform, some rapid and encouraging changes have taken place over the last few months.” 

The New York Times also reported that the Chinese government has been surprisingly lenient towards the Legco’s proposed reforms.  In the past the Chinese government has suppressed democratic activism and calls for reform in both mainland China and in Hong Kong.  The proposed reforms would take effect in the 2012 legislative election.

The Legco is currently comprised of 30 members that are directly elected by geographical constituencies and 30 members that are elected by business-related constituencies.  The Epoch Times reported that one of the main goals of Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement is to eliminate the business-related constituencies because those candidates are typically backed by mainland China’s Communist regime. 

According to The Economist, the Democratic Party, the biggest pro-democracy group, which currently holds nine seats in the Legco, has been criticized by pro-democracy activists for abandoning its previous call for popular elections in 2012.  Abiding by the Party’s previous principles, one of the Party’s nine members stepped down after the rest of the members decided to support the new bill.  Pro-democracy activists say that the newly proposed reforms fail to address how Hong Kong will eventually achieve its transition to a fully democratic society. 

For previous news on Hong Kong, please see:
http://ccd21.org/news/asia/hong_kong_referendum.html

Sources:
The Economist - Functionally democratic

www.ccd21.org