Hong Kong white paper a boon for participation in Occupy Central

Weeks after the Occupy Central movement decided to stage the vote on electoral reform, the civil disobedience movement was in a serious crisis.

The group had shortlisted three reform proposals, each one allowing the public to nominate chief executive candidates in 2017. But organisers worried that many would be discouraged from casting ballots because of the narrow range of options.

Dr Chan Kin-man, a co-organiser of the Occupy Central movement, warned on May 28 that the campaign would fail if fewer than 100,000 people voted in the so-called referendum. If such a scenario happened, the organisers said they would publicly apologise and admit that they did not have the ability to lead the campaign.

After weeks of criticism from both the government and some democrats, the movement received an unexpected boost: the State Council on June 10 issued a white paper stating unequivocally its authority over Hong Kong. By midnight, more than 700,000 had voted in the plebiscite, which Beijing has dismissed as a "farce".

Chan said the white paper had driven many to take part in the poll: "Many of them consider the significance of casting ballots goes beyond choosing a reform plan. It's a way to express anger against Beijing's tough stance."

The Occupy Central movement threatens to mobilise 10,000 people to block traffic in the financial hub if the government fails to come up with a proposal for the 2017 chief executive race that meets international standards for democracy. The government is expected to release its election plan this year. Occupy's decision to shortlist the nomination options came from 2,500 people, who attended "Deliberation Day" on May 6.

It instantly sparked criticism from some moderate pan-democratic lawmakers and Hong Kong 2020, an advocacy group founded by former chief secretary Anson Chan Fang On-sang.