[AJA Global Report] 510 thousand Hong Kong people participated in a demonstration

Latest Hong Kong News Roundup

Under heavy downpours, 51million Hong Kong people participated in a demonstration and fight for democracy.

Massive crowds sang “Do you hear the people sing?” as they unfurled banners and posters proclaiming “Universal suffrage Go! Screening No!” in what could be the biggest July 1 handover anniversary protest march since 2003. Organizers Civil Human Rights Front claimed 510 thousand people turned out for the protest march – higher than the 2003 turnout of 500 thousand.

Public sentiment was sparked by the government’s refusal to allow civil nomination and genuine universal suffrage for the 2017 chief executive elections, as well as the release by the Chinese central government of a white paper on Hong Kong’s one country, two systems which made it clear that Beijing is in control. The march from Causeway Bay to Central took about eight hours to complete. There were heavy downpours as protesters reached Wan Chai, but colorful umbrellas were quickly unfurled.
(Source: The Standard)

People queue up at a polling station on the last day to vote for an unofficial referendum on democratic reform in Hong Kong Sunday, June 29, 2014. (Photo: AP/Kin Cheung)

790,000 people cast their votes in a “civil referendum”

About one-fifth of Hong Kong’s registered voters have spoken – they want the political parties, the public and the Nomination Committee to pick the candidates for the 2017 chief executive election. A total of 787,767 people took part in the 10-day poll on electoral arrangements for the 2017 chief executive election – the equivalent to 22 percent of the registered 3.5 million voters in Hong Kong.More than 691,000 voters (88%) said Legco should veto the reform proposal that is not in line with the international standards on universal suffrage. Only about 59,000 people (8%) said Legco should not veto the reform proposal.

The Hong Kong government replied that the public nomination system does not comply with the Basic Law and the National People’s Congress Standing Committee decisions and will not be put forward for social discussion. They respected the right of the people to express their views and they also understand that there are different views in society about the specific method for implementing universal suffrage for the chief executive election. Currently, the chief executive is elected by a committee formed by 1,200 members from designated stratum of the society.
(Source: The South China Morning Post)

Secretary for Development Paul Chan Mo-po said he hoped lawmakers acknowledged that the project was important for Hong Kong's housing supply. (Photo: May Tse/SCMP)

A controversial new town development plan approved amind chaos

Lawmakers in Hong Kong finally approved the government’s request for preliminary HK$340 million funding for work on controversial new towns amid chaotic scenes and vows of legal action from pan-democrats, who said the vote was illegitimate. As the meeting neared its conclusion, the chairman told lawmakers they would have only one minute each to ask questions before the funding request went to a vote. Pan-democrats complained that the chairman had contravened Article 46 of the rules of procedure, which dictates that “the chairman shall ask members if they have any further questions before putting an item to the vote”.

Pan-democrats got up to berate the chairman, but he refused to change his mind. While they were still complaining, the vote went ahead. Finally, Members of the Legislative Council voted 29-2 to approve the funding request while most pan-democrats did not vote. The chairman and Development Bureau officials were escorted out by security guards. After the meeting, one of the lawmakers complained that the chairman had repeatedly breached the committee’s procedural rules and the vote result is illegitimate. The only choice was to seek a judicial review.
(Source: The Standard)

A lawmaker is restrained after he throws a glass in the direction of Hong Kong Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying during a question and answer session at the Legislative Council. (Photo: Agence France-Presse/Getty Images)

A lawmaker throws a glass to Chief Executive

A Radical lawmaker who nicknamed “Mad Dog” Raymond Wong Yuk-man threw a drinking glass at Leung Chun-ying, the Chief Executive, in the Legislative Council when he entered the Legco meeting. Twenty three pan- democrat lawmakers staged a demonstration when Leung Chun-ying entered the chamber. They called for genuine universal suffrage and the non-screening of candidates for the chief executive election. At the moment, Wong walked to the right side of the chamber and climbed onto a small table, from which he picked up a pile of papers and threw them at Leung. He picked up a glass and managed to hurl it, even though several security guards grabbed both his arms. The glass hit the rostrum about two meters behind Leung and shattered.

Wong was escorted from the chamber. The incident lasted about three minutes. Leung showed reporters a shard of glass he picked up from the floor of the chamber and asked the public to view the incident seriously and what impact they have on the younger generation.. He described Wong’s action as an escalation of violence in the Legco chamber. Wong started throwing bananas at the former chief executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen in 2008 when he was delivering his policy address. Police entered the chamber to investigate and collect evidence after lawmakers left the chamber at the end of the 90-minute meeting. Police have classified the case as common assault.
(Source: The Standard)

By Ryan Kwan, Hong Kong, AJA Global Reporter