Hong Kong vetoes China-backed electoral reform proposal

Hong Kong's legislature on June 18 vetoed a China-vetted electoral reform package that had been criticized by opposition pro-democracy lawmakers and activists as undemocratic, potentially easing the prospect of fresh mass protests. 

The vote came earlier than expected, with only 37 of the legislature's 70 lawmakers present. Of these, 28 legislators voted against the blueprint and eight voted in favour, while one did not cast their vote. 

The rejection had been expected and will likely appease some activists who had demanded a veto of what they call a "fake" democratic model for how the Chinese-controlled Asian financial centre chooses its next leader in 2017. 

It will, however, be a blow to Beijing's Communist leaders, who had pressured and cajoled the city's pro-democracy lawmakers to back the blueprint that would have allowed a direct vote for the city's chief executive, but with only pre-screened, pro-Beijing candidates on the ballot. 

"This veto has helped Hong Kong people send a clear message to Beijing...that we want a genuine choice, a real election," said pan-democratic lawmaker Alan Leong. 

"This is not the end of the democratic movement," he said. "This is a new beginning." 

Democratic lawmakers, all 27 of whom voted against the plan, marched to the front of the chamber immediately after the veto and unfurled a sign calling for genuine universal suffrage and for Hong Kongers not to give up. 

Some carried the yellow umbrellas that became a symbol of the mass protest movement that brought parts of the former British colony to a standstill last year. 
 

Placards symbolising a vote against the government's controversial electoral roadmap are displayed on the seats of pro-democracy...