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On Sunday 14, thousands of Hong Kong citizens marched from Causeway Bay to the Legislative Council to protest against the electoral reform package proposed by the government. Demonstrators held yellow umbrellas and wore yellow ribbons, powerful symbols of the Umbrella Revolution that rocked the former British colony last year. They protesters denounced Beijing's version of universal suffrage , demanding 'genuine' democratic elections for Hong Kong. If the electoral reform is passed by the legislature, Hong Kong citizens will for the first time vote directly for their Chief Executive. But critics argue that the democratic reforms are 'fake', as the candidates for the post of Chief Executive will be selected by an electoral committee.  On August 31, 2014, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress  (NPC) passed a decision on the implementation of universal suffrage, a concept enshrined in Paragraph 2 of Article 45 of the Hong Kong Basic ...

Over the past few years, a battle has erupted in Hong Kong over the future of the former British colony which was handed over to the People's Republic of China (PRC) in 1997 and became a Special Administrative Region (SAR). According to the "One Country, Two Systems" model proposed by Deng Xiaoping, Hong Kong was to maintain a high degree of autonomy as well as the freedoms inherited by the colonial state.  According to the Basic Law  of the SAR, promulgated in 1990 by the PRC government and put into effect after the handover, the Chief Executive of Hong Kong " shall be the head of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and shall represent the Region ". He " shall be accountable to the Central People's Government and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in accordance with the provisions of this law ."  The function of Chief Executive basically replaced that of the British governor in colonial times. But while the governor was ...

On August 31, 2014, the Tenth Session of the Standing Committee of the Twelfth National People's Congress (NPC) adopted a decision  on " Issues Relating to the Selection of the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region [HKSAR]  by Universal Suffrage and on the Method for Forming the Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in the Year 2016 ".  #454428966 / gettyimages.com According to Paragraph 2 of Article 45 of the Hong Kong Basic Law , the NPC has the right to reform Hong Kong's electoral system " in the light of the actual situation " and " in accordance with the principle of gradual and orderly progress. " As specified in the Basic Law, the " ultimate aim is the selection of the Chief Executive by universal suffrage upon nomination by a broadly representative nominating committee ". 

Decision of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress on Issues Relating to the Selection of the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region by Universal Suffrage and on the Method for Forming the Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in the Year 2016 Adopted at the Tenth Session of the Standing Committee of the Twelfth National People's Congress on 31 August 2014 The Standing Committee of the Twelfth National People's Congress considered at its Tenth Session the Report on whether there is a need to amend the methods for selecting the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in 2017 and for forming the Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in 2016 submitted by Leung Chun-ying, the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, on 15 July 2014. In the course of deliberation, the relevant views and suggestions of the Hong Kong community w...