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Hong Kong

Hong Kong group Scholarism switches focus to 2017 chief executive poll

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Students make their views clear during a protest against national education. Photo: Sam Tsang
Johnny Tam

As well as forcing the government to climb down, last year's protests against national education propelled a group of young activists into the headlines.

But having won their fight against a school curriculum they described as "brainwashing", Scholarism members have a bigger target: political reform and universal suffrage in 2017.

The group, founded in 2011 by teenager Joshua Wong Chi-fung, was among the first organisations to put forward a proposal for the 2017 chief executive poll, due to be decided by universal suffrage.

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"Political reform is more complicated … everyone has different views, even if they all support universal suffrage," said Scholarism member Agnes Chow Ting. "It is taking us more time to research how other countries' democratic systems work."

Chow, now 16 and in Form Six, became the group's spokeswoman after taking part in last year's protests, when tens of thousands gathered outside government headquarters.

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The group proposed that the "broadly representative" nominating committee, which under the Basic Law will select chief executive candidates, should include all 3.2 million voters.

But the idea of public nomination has been dismissed by Beijing loyalists and central government representatives as a breach of the Basic Law.

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