The forgotten issue

It had been envisaged as the only real election issue in the Legislative Council polls in the aftermath of the July 1 rallies. But with the jockeying for seats about to end, universal suffrage has become a half-issue at best in an election plagued by negative publicity.

With hindsight, the 'hollowing out' of the election began with the July rallies last year. Emboldened by the 500,000-strong march on July 1, the pan-democracy force intensified its campaign for electing the next chief executive and all Legco members by 'one person, one vote' in 2007 and 2008, respectively.

Under a three-part game plan, the first battlefield was November's district council elections, where the force for democratic change left the pro-Beijing camp reeling in defeat.

A second massive July 1 march this year was planned as step two, which would set the stage for turning the Legco poll into a 'one-issue election' - universal suffrage in 2007 and 2008.

Universal suffrage was to have been the pan-democracy force's trump card against its rivals. And with a majority, or near majority, in the next Legco, the democratic camp would then be able to pressure Beijing to allow full democracy in 2007.

That game plan, however, was thrown into disarray after Beijing killed the universal suffrage issue in April by ruling out early democracy. Room for change to the arrangements for the two elections was significantly limited.

Beijing's decision put the democrats in a dilemma. If they insisted on demanding early universal suffrage, they would be dismissed as unrealistic by some people, and condemned as confrontational by others. But if they backed down, they would be ridiculed as opportunistic and soft.