Hong Kong stalls abolition of by-elections after protests

Jul 4, 2011, 12:20 GMT

Hong Kong - The Hong Kong government Monday postponed controversial plans to scrap by-elections in the former British colony, three days after a protest by more than 200,000 people.

In a major U-turn, the government announced it was delaying a vote on July 13 aimed at approving the abolition of by-elections and would instead hold a two-month public consultation on the issue.

The announcement came three days after an estimated 218,000 people took part in an annual pro-democracy march, with public discontent fueled by the government plans to abolish the by-elections.

It also came hours after a legislature hearing Monday morning when officials insisted the vote on by-elections would go ahead on July 13 as scheduled, prompting a walk-out by pro-democracy legislators.

The turnout for Friday's pro-democracy march, held to coincide with the anniversary of Hong Kong's return to Chinese rule, was four times larger than in 2010 and the biggest since 2004.

Hong Kong's Beijing-appointed leaders want to scrap by-elections after five legislators resigned mid-term last year to protest the slow pace of democratization in Hong Kong.

They resigned to force by-elections they called a mini-referendum on democracy. All regained their seats unopposed with only 17 per cent of eligible voters taking part.

Under the government proposal, if a legislator resigns or dies mid-term, the seat would be taken by the next most popular candidate from the same party or the next best placed candidate.

Announcing the U-turn Monday, Hong Kong deputy leader Henry Tang sidestepped questions on whether the decision had been prompted by the huge turnout for the July 1 march.

He said the administration had 'taken on board' the views expressed by legislators during the bills committee hearing Monday where the walkout took place.

The consultation, from July to September, would allow the government to 'listen to the views of the public further' before the legislation was finalized in the autumn, Tang said.

Pro-democracy legislators said they thought the public consultation was 'a delaying tactic' and feared the government would scrap by-elections afterwards regardless of public opinion.

Hong Kong reverted to Chinese sovereignty in 1997 under a 'one country, two systems' arrangement, which allows limited democracy and freedoms of expression denied to people elsewhere in China.