Hong Kong unveils long-awaited democracy blueprint

Updated November 18, 2009 20:38:00

There's been outrage today in Hong Kong's pro-democracy movement, after the city's pro-China legislature unveiled its long-awaited blueprint for political reform. Currently, Hong Kong's Chief Executive is voted for by an 800-member committee stacked with Beijing loyalists. Voting for half the seats in the Legislative Council is similarly restricted to pro-China groups. Two years ago, Beijing bowed to public pressure and laid out a timetable to change the current voting structure.

While ruling out universal suffrage for Hong Kong's citizens in elections due in 2012, the timetable hinted at direct polls for the Chief Executive's job in 2017, and for every citizen to get the chance to vote for the Legislative Council by 2020. But today's blueprint has simply increased the size of the committee that elects the city's leader, and made it tougher for pro-democracy candidates to stand. It's also handed more control over the Legislative Council to Beijing.

Alan Leong, a pro-democracy politician who ran and lost against Beijing's favoured candidate Donald Tsang two years ago, today led more than 200 angry democrats in a parliamentary protest.

Presenter: Corinne Podger
Speaker: Alan Leong, Civic Party member, Hong Kong