HONG KONG: Hong Kong democracy activists vowed on Sunday to embark on an “era of civil disobedience” including mass sit-ins after China announced rules giving it control over candidates in the city’s next leadership election.

The standing committee of the National People’s Congress (NPC), China’s rubber-stamp parliament, decided that the next chief executive will be elected by popular vote in 2017, but candidates must each be backed by more than half the members of a 1,200-strong “broadly representative nominating committee”.

Democracy advocates in the semi-autonomous Chinese city say this means Beijing will be able to ensure a sympathetic slate of candidates and exclude opponents. “This is one person, one vote, but there is no choice. They have that in North Korea but you can’t call it democracy,” Democratic Party chairwoman Emily Lau said.

The pro-democracy group Occupy Central said it would go ahead with its threat to take over the city’s Central financial district in protest, at an unspecified date. Hundreds rallied in a park outside the city’s legislature late on Sunday chanting “No to fake democracy!” and blowing vuvuzelas.

Published in Dawn, September 1st, 2014