Word: reformer
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...will become the unquestioned leader of the legislature's democratic caucus. The Dec. 2 by-election - for a seat made vacant by the death of pro-Beijing lawmaker Ma Lik - is being billed as the most dramatic in Hong Kong's history because of its implications for democratic reform. Chan faces the pro-Beijing camp's anointed candidate, former security chief Regina Ip. Defeat for Ip will be interpreted as a vote for Chan's political platform, which includes the introduction of universal suffrage by 2012. It is an anxious prospect for mainland China, which vets candidates for Hong Kong...
...democrat is opportunistic. During a bruising primary debate on Sept. 24, a rival candidate accused her of being a "sudden democrat." Yet Chan says her decision to run for office was driven not by a change in principles, but by her growing disillusionment with the laggard pace of reform. Under the Basic Law, Hong Kong's mini-constitution, the city is supposed to be granted universal suffrage eventually. But more than a decade after the law took effect, Beijing remains wary that full democracy in Hong Kong could spark an outcry for similar rights on the mainland and continues...
...brought half a million Hong Kong people onto the streets in protest in July 2003, led to Ip's resignation as Secretary for Security. Ip recently made a public apology for her aggressive promotion of the bill, and says she also supports universal suffrage. But, she adds, debate over reform is pointless without Beijing's go-ahead. "We can't get to democracy by polemic," Ip says...
...Sarkozy and his government were elected to power only months ago, after a majority of voters back his clearly defined program of reform," Parodi comments. "It's therefore difficult for a relatively small sector of the population to legitimately contend that one of the pillars of those reforms is somehow outrageous...
...perhaps just as significantly, Parodi continues, French public opinion that has long tended to back virtually any labor movement by default - often to the amazement of foreign observers - now appears to agree with Sarkozy's view that the time has come for change. "Strikes and opposition to reform has been something of a rite in French society, and there's a feeling today that this reoccurring ritual is now both outdated and counter-productive," Parodi explains. "There's a very strong feeling this time around that enough is enough - it's time to face reality and move ahead...