June 30, 2014 -- Updated 0437 GMT
(1237 HKT)
Hong Kong (CNN) -- Nearly 800,000 Hong Kongers have done
something China
In an unofficial
referendum organized by pro-democracy activists and denounced by Chinese
authorities, 787,767 people in the city of more than seven million have called
for the right to directly elect their next leader.
But Beijing
has insisted Hong Kong politics stays in line
with Chinese rule, paving the way for a showdown in the city.
Who are the
activists?
Occupy Central is a
pro-democracy group founded in 2013. Their goal is to allow the Hong Kong public to elect its next leader without strings
attached.
If the Hong Kong government doesn't eventually give the public
more voting rights, Occupy Central has threatened to "occupy" Central
district, the city's financial hub, with a sit-in that would disrupt businesses
and block traffic.
How is Hong Kong governed now?
Hong Kong is a
Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China
A former British
colony, the city was returned to Chinese control in 1997. But before the
handover, China and the United Kingdom signed an agreement giving Hong
Kong a "high degree of autonomy" for 50 years after its return to China
A few weeks ago, the Chinese government released astrongly-worded white paper that said Hong Kong does not
have "full autonomy" and asserted that ultimate power over the city
lay with Beijing Hong Kong
see this as a violation of "one country, two systems."
Currently, Hong Kong 's leader, known as the chief executive, is
elected by a small committee. In 2012, this committee selected Leung Chun-ying,
a staunch Beijing
What's the referendum
all about?
The Hong Kong
government has promised residents they will be able to vote for their own
leader by 2017, but here's the catch: Beijing
says it will only allow candidates who "love China."
Occupy Central
responded by organizing an unofficial city-wide referendum, which asked people
to choose between three ways to reform Hong Kong 's
voting system. All three plans proposed that candidates be nominated publicly,
regardless of whether the candidates have Beijing
To put it simply,
anyone who voted in the referendum essentially said they wanted to have their
own say in Hong Kong 's political future.
What were the
results?
The 10-day voting
period began June 20 and asked voters to choose between one of three proposals
to reform the city's election process.
Organizers had
expected only 100,000 votes for what was originally just a two-day voting
period. The final tally of valid ballots cast came to 787,767, with 42% going
towards a proposal from the Alliance for True
Democracy that said candidates for Hong Kong's chief executive should be
nominated by the public, and conditions such as requiring candidates to
"love China , love Hong Kong " should not be allowed.
Activists say the
large overall turnout is a clear indicator of Hong Kong 's
discontent with Chinese government policies.
"Whatever Beijing may say in public now I think it can hardly afford
to ignore the voices of 780,000 Hong Kong people," Anson Chan, former
Chief Secretary of Hong Kong told CNN.
How has Beijing
The Chinese
government is not amused. China 's
Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office declared
the unofficial referendum to be"unlawful."
In an editorial
published June 23, the state-run Global Times called it an "illegal farce." The next day, another editorial accused activists of sowing "hatred."
Meanwhile, China China
As voting went
underway, newscast signals from Hong Kong were also reportedly blacked out in
China's neighboring Guangdong province, where Chinese residents normally enjoy
access to Hong Kong TV.
Organizers of the
referendum also claim their website has been hit by significant cyberattacks,
though it is unclear where the attacks may have originated from.
What about the
sit-in?
If the Hong Kong
government doesn't reform its electoral system in line with what Occupy Central
is asking for, the group says it will marshal 10,000 people to sit and
peacefully block traffic in downtown Hong Kong as a way to pressure Beijing into allowing Hong Kong
to exercise "genuine universal suffrage."
Given Beijing
But nobody knows how
much disruption the protest may cause. Hong Kong 's
security chief has warned the protest could turn violent, and "things could
get out of control."
Others have warned
that Occupy Central could disrupt Hong
Kong 's typically stable economy.
What else is going on?
It's been a month of
political activism in the city. A 25th anniversary vigil for the 1989 Tiananmen Square
crackdown victims drew around 100,000 people, and the subsequent release of
Beijing's white paper only riled up the city's politically-minded residents
even further.
On July 1, Hong
Kongers will stage an annual pro-democracy protest march. The turnout is
expected to be huge. We could be seeing tens, if not hundreds of thousands of
people.
Later, Occupy
Central reportedly plans to organize a follow-up referendum, which will give
voters a choice between the most popular reform solution, and the government's
proposal.
Website:
Structure:
Who: The people in Hong
Kong
When: 2013/6/30
What: The residents of Hong
Kong want to cast a ballot to demand a
democratic government
Where: In Hong Kong
Key words:
Ballot (n)票選
Referendum (n)公投
Executive (n)行政權
Judiciary (n)司法
Autonomy (n)自治
Enshrine (v)供奉
Sit-in (n)靜坐
Subsequent (a)隨後的
