Asia-Pacific News
Hong Kong leader seeks support for electoral reforms
May 29, 2010, 8:12 GMT
Hong Kong - Hong Kong leader Donald Tsang Saturday kicked off a campaign to persuade legislators to approve controversial electoral reforms.
The Beijing-appointed government risks defeat in a June vote on the proposal which pro-democracy legislators say does not go far enough towards universal suffrage.
The limited reforms would require a two-thirds legislative majority to be in place for the 2012 elections.
Tsang broadcast an appeal Saturday to legislators to approve the reforms, as his administration organised a series of events to generate public support.
He warned that if the reforms were rejected, as happened with a similar proposal in 2005, Hong Kong would have 'dragged its feet on the issue for 10 years.'
Last week, the deputy head of the Beijing Liaison Office also met with opposition legislators to seek support for the measure, in the first talks between a senior Chinese official and Hong Kong democrats for more than 20 years.
The city currently has partial democracy, with half its 60 legislators directly elected and the rest chosen by largely pro-government professional interest groups.
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