The Heung Yee Kuk formally approved controversial proposals for a new rural election system yesterday, while more than 100 indigenous villagers protested outside the meeting, claiming they were being robbed of their rights.
The villagers vowed to continue their fight and said they would consider taking legal action, accusing the government of breaching the protection of their rights guaranteed by the Basic Law.
In a special meeting yesterday, the kuk - composed of government-appointed members and villagers whose job it is to represent rural interests - passed the proposal by 105 to 13. About a fifth of the kuk members did not turn up.
The row stems from a Court of Final Appeal ruling in 2000 that the existing arrangement for village elections - which gives exclusive rights to vote and stand as a candidate to indigenous residents - is unconstitutional.
A bill to implement the new 'two heads' system, under which indigenous villagers will elect one village head to represent their interests while all residents vote for another representative for the entire village, will be tabled to the Legislative Council today.
Displaying banners and chanting slogans, more than 100 indigenous villagers staged a protest outside the meeting chamber inside the kuk complex in Kowloon Tong. Kuk leaders had previously said they would be banned.