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Big Voter Turnout in Unofficial Hong Kong Poll Poll on Democracy Draws Big Turnout in Hong Kong
(about 11 hours later)
HONG KONG — Participation in an informal poll to gauge Hong Kong’s desire for democracy is exceeding expectations, helped by hundreds of volunteers across the former British colony who are reaching potential voters in subway stations and shopping malls. HONG KONG — Participation in an informal poll to gauge Hong Kong’s desire for democracy is exceeding expectations, helped on Sunday by hundreds of volunteers who are reaching potential voters in subway stations and shopping malls, bringing American-style retail politics to one small corner of the People’s Republic of China.
Three days into a 10-day voting period, more than 600,000 ballots had been cast on Sunday, or more than one-sixth of the number of registered voters in Hong Kong. Three days into a 10-day voting period, more than 689,000 ballots had been cast, equal to almost one-fifth of the number of registered voters in Hong Kong, a former British colony that was returned to Chinese sovereignty in 1997.
Organizers had said publicly that they hoped for at least 100,000 participants in a poll that has been condemned as “illegal and invalid” by the central government in Beijing. Most votes have been cast online, through a website or by smartphone, but on Sunday polling centers opened across Hong Kong, and people voted in curtained booths. Organizers had publicly said they hoped for at least 100,000 participants in the poll, which has been condemned as “illegal and invalid” by the central government in Beijing. Most votes have been cast online — on computers through a website or by smartphones with an app — but on Sunday, polling centers opened across Hong Kong, and people voted in curtained booths. The poll is nonbinding and does not have the backing of the Hong Kong government.
The poll is nonbinding and does not have the backing of the Hong Kong government. Using tactics that would be familiar ahead of the Iowa caucuses or New Hampshire primary, groups of students and other volunteers on Sunday caught potential voters at the bus and subway stations and near the city’s shopping malls. Though Hong Kong is just more than one-quarter the size of Rhode Island, its 7.2 million people make it more populous than all but 12 American states.
People who participate are choosing among three possible methods for selecting Hong Kong’s chief executive, the city’s top official. The current holder of that office, Leung Chun-ying, said on Friday that none of the proposals would be permitted under the legal framework set up to govern Hong Kong following its 1997 return to Chinese sovereignty. The group overseeing the poll, Occupy Central With Love and Peace, has vowed to disrupt the city’s main business district if the Hong Kong government, in consultation with Beijing puts forth a nomination plan that doesn’t meet international standards for free and fair elections. People who participate are choosing among three possible methods for electing the top leader of Hong Kong, called the chief executive, all of which give voters a more direct say in picking candidates than the Chinese government has signaled it will tolerate. The current chief executive, Leung Chun-ying, said Friday that none of the proposals would be permitted under the legal framework set up to govern Hong Kong. The group overseeing the poll, Occupy Central With Love and Peace, has pledged to disrupt the city’s main business district if the Hong Kong government, in consultation with Beijing, presented an election reform plan that did not meet international standards for free and fair elections.
While China has agreed to allow Hong Kong to pick the chief executive by universal suffrage in 2017, the referendum’s organizers say that the nomination process will be skewed to only allow a vote for a Beijing-approved candidate. The three proposals being voted on in the informal poll all allow for candidates who may not be acceptable to Beijing to find their way onto the ballot. The Chinese government has final approval of any official Hong Kong election result. All three options allow candidates to secure a nomination by receiving a certain number of signatures from voters — a minimum of 1 percent of the voting public, or about 35,000 people. They differ in the procedures used to nominate candidates.
While the Chinese government has agreed to allow Hong Kong to pick the chief executive by universal suffrage from 2017, it has resisted calls for significantly expanding voters’ participation in nominating candidates. The referendum’s organizers say unless their demands are met, the nomination process will be skewed to allow a vote for only Beijing-approved candidates. The three proposals being voted on allow for candidates who may not be acceptable to Beijing to find their way onto the ballot. The Chinese government has final approval of any candidate who wins a Hong Kong election.
But the mainland government has no control over the informal referendum, which has suffered from cyberattacks. Some people have said that Beijing’s opposition to the poll, carried out by a university-affiliated group in tandem with the Occupy Central movement, motivated them to vote.But the mainland government has no control over the informal referendum, which has suffered from cyberattacks. Some people have said that Beijing’s opposition to the poll, carried out by a university-affiliated group in tandem with the Occupy Central movement, motivated them to vote.
Over the weekend, Hong Kong newspapers loyal to the mainland Chinese government denounced the informal referendum. Wen Wei Po, a pro-mainland publication, said the electronic poll was open to numerous abuses, including residents voting more than once by using more than one smartphone or computer. “This farce cannot decide Hong Kong’s future,” said a headline on the website of Takung Pao, another pro- Beijing newspaper. Over the weekend, Hong Kong newspapers loyal to the mainland Chinese government denounced the referendum. Wen Wei Po, a pro-mainland publication, said the electronic poll was open to numerous abuses, including the possibility that residents might vote more than once by using more than one smartphone or computer. “This farce cannot decide Hong Kong’s future,” said a headline on the website of Takung Pao, another pro-Beijing newspaper.
Benny Tai, a founder of the Occupy Central movement, said that if the Hong Kong or Chinese authorities questioned the integrity of the vote, there was a simple solution: The government should organize an official referendum that would put real choices about universal suffrage to the voters. “We’d support that,” said Mr. Tai. “If they have their doubts, then they can answer them with an official poll.” Benny Tai, a founder of the Occupy Central movement, said that if the Hong Kong or Chinese authorities questioned the integrity of the vote, there was a simple solution: The government should organize an official referendum that would put real choices about universal suffrage to the voters. “We’d support that,” Mr. Tai said. “If they have their doubts, then they can answer them with an official poll.”
Yet even if some ballots turn out to be invalid, interviews with voters who lined up at polling stations across the city on Sunday showed widespread enthusiasm for the referendum. In true Chinese style, people in Hong Kong’s outer suburb of Tseung Kwan O were voting as a family. Philip Yeung, 22, who studies English at a local university, brought his mother, father and sister with him to vote at their polling station. Chloe Ng, a 39-year-old child care worker, said her entire extended family of more than 20 people had cast ballots. Voters at polling stations across the city on Sunday showed enthusiasm for the referendum. In Hong Kong’s outer suburb of Tseung Kwan O, Philip Yeung, 22, who studies English at a local university, brought his mother, father and sister with him to vote. Chloe Ng, 39, a child care worker, said her entire extended family of more than 20 people had cast ballots.
One subway stop down, Van Law, 18, and four other students were catching people as they entered the station. They had set up two computers, and a steady stream of people were voting. For some of Hong Kong’s youth, the campaign over universal suffrage has become a heady initiation into opposition activism. Many of the most ardent canvassers for votes were supporters of Scholarism, a youth group that has backed the most far-reaching proposal for public nomination of candidates for the chief executive.
For some of Hong Kong’s youth, the campaign over universal suffrage has become a heady initiation into opposition activism. At ballot booths around Hong Kong, the most ardent canvassers for votes often appeared to be high school and university students, many of them supporters of Scholarism, a youth group that has backed the most far- reaching proposal for public nomination of candidates for the chief executive. Two high school activists for Scholarism, Agnes Chow and Joshua Wong, rode a campaign van through Hong Kong as a loudspeaker attached to it blared out calls to vote. Both said they saw the poll as another step in a long battle against the mainland authorities and their local supporters.
Two of the most prominent high school student activists for Scholarism, Agnes Chow and Joshua Wong, rode a campaign van through Hong Kong as a loudspeaker attached to the van blared out Mr. Wong’s deep-voiced call for residents to vote. Both said they saw the unofficial poll as another step in a long battle against the mainland authorities and their local supporters. “Our consideration is not whether the Chinese government will accept the proposal or not,” said Ms. Chow, 17. “The most important consideration is that the Hong Kong people can enjoy a real democratic political system. Whatever the result, that’s our ultimate goal.”
“Our consideration is not whether the Chinese government will accept the proposal or not,” Ms. Chow, a 17-year- old in her final year of high school, said in an interview. “The most important consideration is that the Hong Kong people can enjoy a real democratic political system. Whatever the result, that’s our ultimate goal.” Outside one polling station in a busy shopping district, a dozen or so opponents of the referendum shouted slogans and held up signs urging people to “think twice” before voting. But as the morning progressed, a growing number of people filed up the stairs to vote at 15 tables run by volunteers.
A pack of television cameras surrounded her and Mr. Wong when they arrived at a polling station in Causeway Bay, one of Hong Kong’s busiest shopping districts. Outside the polling station in a teachers’ union office, a dozen or so pro-mainland opponents of the referendum shouted slogans and held up signs urging people to “think twice” before voting. But as the morning progressed, growing numbers of people filed up the stairs to vote at 15 tables manned by volunteers.