Hong Kong leader under pressure to take steps towards democracy

CHINA:Hong Kong's chief executive Donald Tsang was reaffirmed in his position as leader of the territory in elections at the weekend, but now attention turns to what steps he will take to introduce greater democracy in Hong Kong.

Beijing's favoured candidate, Mr Tsang easily swept aside the democratic challenger in the first leadership contest since the city reverted to Chinese rule 10 years ago.

But with more and more people in the former British colony clamouring for greater representation, many Hong Kongers hope this is the last time the city's leader will be elected without a one-person, one-vote system, even though there is stiff opposition to universal suffrage from the mainland. The Chinese point out that Hong Kong never enjoyed democracy under British rule.

The victory, by 649 votes to 123 in a secret ballot by a largely pro-Beijing electoral college, gives Mr Tsang another five years in office and had been widely expected.

The losing candidate, the pro-democracy lawmaker Alan Leong, described the vote as "rigged" and demanded more democracy for Hong Kong's seven million people.

The result leaves Mr Tsang faced with a delicate balancing act.

The election panel is composed of the city's richest tycoons and movers and shakers, and can be relied upon to vote the way Beijing wants it to.

And yet, although the result was a foregone conclusion, the election was significant because the campaign highlighted the debate about universal suffrage in Hong Kong and was a litmus test of how much political openness Beijing is prepared to tolerate in the territory.

Hong Kong's business elite have traditionally fought against allowing more democracy as they are worried that it could anger Beijing and make doing business in Hong Kong more difficult.

Some high-profile people are calling for greater representation. Richard Li, son of Hong Kong's richest man Li Ka-shing, said he wanted full democracy for the territory.

"I hope in five years, the next election, I can vote with the public," said Mr Li.

Mr Tsang, a dapper civil servant famous for his bow ties, is a popular figure in Hong Kong.

The knighted daily communicant was appointed Hong Kong's first ethnic Chinese financial secretary in 1995.

Mr Tsang said the election had laid "a solid foundation for moving toward universal suffrage". He has pledged to produce a road-map by 2012 for the introduction of democracy, although he has not committed to implementing universal suffrage by then.

"In a modest way, we have made history . . . I very much believe we can achieve universal suffrage on the one hand and, on the other hand, preserve Hong Kong's long-term prosperity and stability," said Mr Tsang.

The election campaign annoyed China, which allows Hong Kong the autonomy it was promised in the territory's post-handover constitution, the Basic Law.

However, the Basic Law also promises a move towards democracy, which Beijing has ruled out for the time being as it is unwilling to have democracy on Chinese soil. It has worked hard to keep calls for universal suffrage at bay since the handover 10 years ago.

In the run-up to the poll, there were messages from Chinese Communist Party officials saying Hong Kong should steer clear of politics and underlining the role of the annual National People's Congress, the annual parliament which took place earlier this month, in setting policy for the whole country.

As part of his election campaign, Mr Tsang promised to send a policy paper on full democracy to the National People's Congress in the next few months.

Mr Tsang was installed as chief executive in 2005 when his unpopular predecessor Tung Chee-hwa stepped down after losing Beijing's backing and the confidence of many in the city.

Mr Leong, a barrister and lawmaker, was the first opposition candidate on a pro-democracy ticket to qualify for a leadership election since the handover in 1997, and two televised debates between him and Mr Tsang were also a first for Hong Kong.

"There is no turning back from here. Hong Kong people are ready for democracy yesterday," he said.