HONG KONG (AP) - Mainland China dealt a crushing blow to Hong Kong's hopes for full democracy Monday, when its most powerful legislative panel ruled the territory won't have direct elections for its next leader in 2007 or for all its lawmakers in 2008.
Many people in Hong Kong have been demanding the right to democratically elect a successor to their chief executive, Tung Chee-hwa, a former shipping tycoon chosen for his position by an 800-member committee that tends to side with Beijing.
But the Chinese National People's Congress Standing Committee said "universal suffrage shall not apply" to the selection of Tung successor in 2007 or members of the Legislative Council the following year.
Under the ruling, the territory will be allowed to make changes to its electoral methods - but only "in the principle of gradual and orderly progress," China's official news agency Xinhua quoted the committee as saying.
There is one thing morons seem to have in common; they think that everyone else is the moron and they are the smart ones. The morons ruling China are no exception. They're not concerned with "orderly progress" or any other kind of progress, they're concerned with holding on to their power over Hong Kong as long as possible. Hong Kong is a modern, prosperous, free state (for now) and is fully capable of "orderly progress" and self-rule. They are far more capable than china, to be sure.
Additionally, they seem to be preparing for a feast of goose, in haughty disregard of the golden eggs it is producing. This situation could take some very interesting turns, very interesting indeed.
