BEIJING— Protesters clashed with Hong Kong police Monday at a heated news conference about limits imposed by mainland Chinese authorities on the territory’s 2017 election.
Demonstrators have promised civil disobedience in the semi-autonomous Chinese region, although it remains unclear whether they can sustain momentum against tremendous pressure from Beijing.
Monday’s fracas broke out at a conference center where Li Fei, deputy secretary general of China’s National People’s Congress standing committee, came to defend the election framework announced Sunday by his panel. As he approached the lectern to begin his speech, Hong Kong lawmaker Leung Kwok-hung began shouting him down.
He and dozens of lawmakers and demonstrators unfurled a banner, chanted slogans and brandished placards accusing Beijing of “breaching its promise.” Activists dressed in black and wearing yellow ribbons, a symbol of the democracy movement, stood both inside and outside the venue, according to the South China Morning Post.
Police escorted some lawmakers out of the auditorium, while others were dragged. At least four protesters standing outside were sprayed with pepper spray when they tried to force their way past metal barricades to get inside the hall, local media reported.
Li told the invited guests that Beijing would not tolerate a Hong Kong leader who does not heed the views of the Communist-run mainland. “Anyone who does not love the country, love Hong Kong or is confrontational towards the central government shall not be the chief executive,” he said.
Mainland authorities had agreed to let Hong Kongers directly elect their leader in 2017; currently, the chief executive is selected by a 1,200-member committee. But on Sunday, Li’s committee ruled that only two or three candidates will be allowed to run and all must be endorsed by more than half of a nominating committee aligned with Beijing’s interests.
A coalition of democratic activists in the former British territory say the decision amounts to “fake democracy” because it would restrict candidates to those with a Beijing-friendly viewpoint, and have vowed to contest the move with civil disobedience.
Benny Tai, a constitutional law professor and leader of the Occupy Central protest group, said at a rally Sunday night that there would be “wave after wave of protest action.”
High school student Joshua Wong Chi-Feng, 17, a leader of the student group Scholarism, said in a phone interview Monday that his group has organized a student boycott of classes in universities and secondary schools starting early this month.
Li noted that Hong Kong’s Legislative Council must endorse the standing committee’s framework; otherwise, direct voting may be delayed until the 2022 election. Leung and a number of other lawmakers from a loose grouping of political parties known as the pan-democrats have vowed to stop the changes, though in the past their alliance has proven fragile.
Wong said he believed the limits imposed by Beijing might forge a stronger front among the pan-democrat legislators.
“While I am quite disappointed in the decision, I think it is a chance for the pan-democrats to be more united,” he said.
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