POST REFORM VOTE：DAY 81 (07-09-2015)

Occupy Central

Occupy Central is a civil disobedience movement which began in Hong Kong on September 28, 2014. It calls on thousands of protesters to block roads and paralyse Hong Kong's financial district if the Beijing and Hong Kong governments do not agree to implement universal suffrage for the chief executive election in 2017 and the Legislative Council elections in 2020 according to "international standards." The movement was initiated by Benny Tai Yiu-ting (戴耀廷), an associate professor of law at the University of Hong Kong, in January 2013.

Umbrella Movement

The Umbrella Movement (Chinese: 雨傘運動; pinyin: yǔsǎn yùndòng) is a loose political movement that was created spontaneously during the Hong Kong protests of 2014. Its name derives from the recognition of the umbrella as a symbol of defiance and resistance against the Hong Kong government, and the united grass-roots objection to the decision of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPCSC) of 31 August.

The movement consists of individuals numbering in the tens of thousands who participated in the protests that began on 28 September 2014, although Scholarism, the Hong Kong Federation of Students, Occupy Central with Love and Peace,  groups are principally driving the demands for the rescission of the NPCSC decision.

Occupy Central site in Causeway Bay was cleared as police moved in  ...

Occupy Central site in an area surrounding the Legislative Council and Central Government Offices at Tamar were cleared 22-06-2015.

Hong Kong reform vote

The Hong Kong government’s political reform proposal for how the city elects its leader by universal suffrage for the first time in 2017 is based on a strict framework set by Beijing. The plan limits the number of candidates to two or three and requires them to win majority support from a 1,200 strong nominating committee. Arguing that this does not constitute genuine universal suffrage, pan-democratic lawmakers have vowed to reject the package, while pro-democracy groups have protested. The government’s resolution was to be put to a vote by the 70-member Legislative Council in June 2015, requiring a two-thirds majority to be passed.

POST OCCUPY CENTRAL - DAY 266

POST REFORM VOTE：DAY 81 (07-09-2015)

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Beijing urged to meet more pan-dems

The Democratic Party has called on Beijing officials not only to meet more pan- democrat lawmakers but also to respect the need for transparency to avoid misunderstandings.

Party leader Emily Lau Wai-hing described her meeting two weeks ago with Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office deputy director Feng Wei as ice-breaking, adding that other pan-democrats will also be pleased to meet with him and other officials.

Of those, Lau named Civic Party leader Alan Leong Kah-kit, Labour Party lawmaker Cyd Ho Sau-lan, education lawmaker Ip Kin-yuen, and IT sector lawmaker Charles Peter Mok.

Lau added Beijing should also accept Hong Kong's culture of transparency as both the public and media will want to know about such discussions.

She explained her meeting with Feng was kept a secret as he requested, and the only Democratic Party members to know about it were former party chairman and lawmaker Albert Ho Chun-yan, vice-chairmen Andrew Wan Siu-kin and Lo Kin-hei, lawmakers Wu Chi-wai and Helena Wong Pik-wan, and party chief executive Lam Cheuk-ting.

The National Association of Study on Hong Kong and Macau, a think tank, had earlier urged the Democrats to become a "loyalist opposing party," but Lau said the party will not become a "political flower vase."

Meanwhile Tik Chi-yuen, a moderate founding member of the party and former vice chairman, said he will not change his mind about withdrawing from the party.

Tik was one of three pan-democrats invited to watch Thursday's military parade celebrating the 70th anniversary of the victory over Japan. The others were former Civic lawmaker Ronny Tong Ka- wah and health services lawmaker Joseph Lee Kok-long.

Tik said the Democratic Party is wavering between radical and moderate factions, and has shown no clear direction regarding its next step.

He is not sure whether the party has turned its back on the moderate camp.




District councillor finds her voter address changed without her knowledge

A Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions district councillor has discovered that her address was changed on the voter register without her knowledge. The incident is among numerous voter address controversies in the lead-up to the District Council election.

Lau Kwai-yung changed her voter address to Belvedere Garden in Tsuen Wan in early 2015 after moving. However, she found that her address on the register was changed back to Tin Heng Estate in Tin Shui Wai—her residence before moving to Tsuen Wan—by an anonymous individual in April. She discovered the change in late August, reported The Sun.

Lau is a district councillor for the Fu Yan constituency in Tin Shui Wai. Tin Heng Estate is under another constituency in the same district, where another member of her party is the current district councillor. She told the newspaper that she was worried that the change was planted to make people suspect it to be an act of vote-rigging. She has asked the Registration and Electoral Office to change the address to her current one in Tsuen Wan.

In August, a voter’s residential address was changed to his office address by an unknown individual using a forged signature, meaning he became a registered voter in another district.

Cases of suspected fraud where voter addresses were deemed suspicious include voters registered to dismantled buildings, non-existent floors and a five-star hotel. The growing number of dubious registrations has raised concerns that the “voters” may have been planted to manipulate election results.