Hong Kong legislators refuse to budge as electoral reform debate kicks off
Legco complex locked down as hundreds of protesters from opposing camps hold rallies outside
Pan-democrat lawmakers stuck to their guns in a momentous Legislative Council debate on the government's controversial blueprint for the 2017 chief executive election yesterday, making it all but certain they would block the package in a vote that could be held as early as today.
Two hundred police officers were deployed inside the building in case protesters tried to storm the complex, triggering complaints from the pan-democrats that the legislature's independence had been undermined by the unprecedented security measures.
Twenty-five lawmakers made their cases in the chamber on the merits or pitfalls of accepting the blueprint under the framework set by the National People's Congress Standing Committee that would impose key restrictions while allowing Hongkongers to elect their own leader by "one man, one vote" for the first time in history.
All 16 pan-democrats who spoke yesterday stood firm on their pledge to vote down the package, which they dismissed as "fake universal suffrage", while their pro-establishment colleagues chastised them for depriving five million eligible voters of a "historic opportunity".
Two hours before the debate started, accountancy sector legislator Kenneth Leung claimed he had received a telephone call from a "friend" late on Tuesday night urging him to abstain from voting on the blueprint instead of casting a vote against the plan.
"I'm not sure if he was acting as a middleman for some people or just talking to me for himself. He didn't offer anything for a change of mind though," Leung said.
In her opening remarks, Chief Secretary Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor urged the pan-democrats to respect what she claimed was majority public opinion supporting the government package.
In a front-page commentary published yesterday, official Communist Party newspaper urged Hong Kong lawmakers to support the reform package and bring the city back onto the "right track".
With all 27 pan-democrats and one pro-establishment lawmaker, Leung Ka-lau, vowing to vote against the reform plan, the government needs to persuade five legislators to change their minds so that it can secure the required two-thirds majority in the 70-member legislature.
Under the government's reform blueprint, which closely follows Beijing's restrictive framework, Hongkongers would choose from two or three candidates endorsed by a 1,200-strong nominating committee in the 2017 chief executive poll.
Starry Lee Wai-king, chairwoman of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong, said lawmakers could make history if they endorsed the blueprint.
"Without a broad consensus overcoming these differences, any political reform is doomed to fail," said Tong, who earlier appeared to be fighting back tears.
The original founders of Occupy Central, Benny Tai Yiu-ting, Reverend Chu Yiu-ming and Dr Chan Kin-man, joined the rally outside Legco at 7pm.
Watch: Hong Kong political debate brings universal suffrage supporters back to Legco
When the first day of debate ended just before 8pm, protests had reached a climax outside Legco, with organisers of the "vote no" rally claiming 10,000 demonstrators had turned up. There was no violence.
The debate continues today.
