葛洛奇

By MIN LEE (AP)

HONG KONG — Hong Kong's legislature on Friday agreed to add 10 elected seats, completing a set of Beijing-backed electoral changes that critics say reinforce the territory's undemocratic political system.

The legislators approved the proposed changes by a vote of 46-12, concluding a three-day marathon debate. On Thursday, they cleared a measure that expands Hong Kong's leader selection committee from 800 to 1,200 people for the 2012 election cycle.

Hong Kong's Beijing-appointed government has billed the proposals as a form of democratization in the semiautonomous territory, but critics say they only beef up an electoral system skewed in favor of the Chinese government.

"This is the darkest day in the history of Hong Kong's development of democracy," opposition legislator Albert Chan shouted in the legislative chamber after the changes were passed.

Hong Kong leader Donald Tsang was able to secure passage of both bills by winning over the former British colony's leading opposition, the Democratic Party. Tsang agreed to a proposal by the Democrats that the 10 new legislative seats be put to a popular vote. The current 60-member Legislative Council is half-elected, half chosen by professional and business sectors, many of whom are loyal to Beijing.

Hard-line pro-democracy lawmakers made a last-minute appeal to their colleagues earlier Friday, warning the limited changes further entrench a pro-Beijing and pro-business bias, while delaying the prospect of free elections.

"The result of this so-called 'progress' in the constitutional system may very well be the end of our journey to democracy instead of the advancement we were hoping for," said legislator Andrew Cheng, who quit the Democratic Party in protest Wednesday.

"There is no reason our political system should protect the powerful, the rich, people with connections, people with influence and people with resources," lawmaker Audrey Eu said.

The Democrats, who have been besieged with accusations of betrayal during the debate, defended their compromise, saying their supporters are sick of political stalemate. Hong Kong's pro-democracy camp blocked a similar package of electoral changes in 2005.

"There is a large group of middle-class citizens who feel a strong powerlessness about the inability of the constitutional system to progress," Democrat Lee Wing-tat said.

By MIN LEE (AP)  

HONG KONG — Hong Kong legislators passed the first part of a Beijing-backed package of electoral changes Thursday that critics say will delay full democracy in this former British colony.

The package has been billed by the government as reform because it expands the committee that selects Hong Kong's chief executive and adds elected representatives to the 60-member legislature, which is half chosen by professional and business sectors loyal to Beijing.

The lawmakers approved expanding Hong Kong's 800-member leader selection committee to 1,200 people with a vote of 46-13. Another bill that adds 10 seats to the Legislative Council was pending, but it's also expected to receive the 40 votes required for passage.

Critics say the plan is undemocratic because it reinforces a political system skewed in favor of Beijing without changing its fundamental structure.

Beijing, however, was able to win over moderates in the pro-democracy camp by making a last-minute concession. Chinese officials agreed to a Democratic Party suggestion to put all 10 new legislative seats to a popular vote.

Meanwhile, in a political bonus to Beijing, the proposals have divided its opposition. Much of the debate has been characterized by bickering among pro-democracy legislators, with members of hard-line pro-democracy parties accusing the Democratic Party of abandoning the fight for full democracy.

"If the Democratic Party votes for the reform package without the promise of genuine democracy, they have betrayed their promise and their integrity," League of Social Democrats legislator Raymond Wong said Thursday before the vote. "They are accepting the lies of the people in power. They are no longer part of the pro-democracy camp."

Alan Leong, a lawmaker for the pro-democacy Civic Party, said that public support has been building for changes to make Hong Kong's government more accountable to the people's will. He added, "If we pass this so-called 'improved' bill, this momentum will disappear."

Democrat Andrew Cheng said he opposed the compromise and announced he will quit the party on Wednesday. Chairman Albert Ho was heckled by calls of "shameful" and splashed with water as he left the legislature late Wednesday. On Thursday, another Democrat, James To, called the bill "unacceptable" but eventually voted yes.

Democrats who back the bill say that while they will continue the fight for free elections, it is time for some concrete — if flawed — progress, otherwise their supporters will lose patience.

"People accuse us of compromising. I want to ask all of my friends in the pro-democracy camp, who hasn't thought about this problem before they ran for election and entered this legislature?" legislator Lee Wing-tat said. "Have any of us compromised? We have all compromised."

Hong Kong to vote on key democracy blueprint

Since Hong Kong, a former British colony, returned to Chinese rule in 1997, local politicians have struggled with Beijing to realise full democracy as allowed for in its mini-constitution, the Basic Law.

After months of tension and haggling over the terms of a reform blueprint that will make elections for the city's leader and legislature slightly more democratic starting in 2012, Hong Kong officials this week made a key compromise which was accepted by the opposition Democratic Party and should clear the way for the bill to pass with a required two-thirds majority.

Analysts say the compromise to allow a majority of legislative seats to be directly elected, was granted with Beijing's consent to lessen the risk of radical democratic forces gaining more populist support should a stalemate persist.

But as lawmakers debated the reform package inside the historic domed legislature, scores of protesters -- some hooting on vuvuzelas, a trumpet-like instrument popular at the World Cup in South Africa -- denounced the package as regressive.

Some of the anger was directed at the Democratic Party which is seen to have compromised on its longstanding principles by siding with Beijing on a less-than-ideal package.

"I'd urge people not to give us too much pressure," said Democratic Party lawmaker Andrew Cheng, who fought to fight back tears on a radio talkshow in a sign of a growing rift among the democrats, some of whom have threatened to quit the party should the electoral blueprint pass.

In 2007, after sustained pressure, Beijing finally laid out a timetable for full democracy, saying universal suffrage would be allowed in 2017 at the earliest.

But many democrats fear Beijing will renege on its promise or rig electoral rules against opposition candidates to preserve its hold on power in the financial hub.

(Reporting by James Pomfret; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani)