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Politics : Stockman Scott's Political Debate Porch -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: lurqer who wrote (40533)	3/27/2004 7:32:23 AM
From: T L Comiskey	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 89467

Rice was discussed on NOW last night. One of the 911 Widows..said basically.. that Con is either a Liar..or an Incompetent.. and should Be fired or resign......... Additionally...anger was expressed that the Commission had be hijacked.. and that hard questions were Not being asked........... pbs.org

To: lurqer who wrote (40533)	3/27/2004 7:58:07 AM
From: lurqer	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 89467

China to Rule on Hong Kong Vote By Philip P. Pan BEIJING, March 26 -- China said Friday that it would convene a meeting of its top law-making body next week and issue a legal ruling that could determine whether Hong Kong can hold direct elections to choose its next chief executive in 2007. The announcement by the official New China News Agency appeared to signal a decision by China's Communist leadership to reject growing public demands for universal suffrage in the former British colony despite the risk of triggering demonstrations like one that drew more than 500,000 people last year. The report said the National People's Congress Standing Committee would meet April 2 and "give interpretations" of key provisions in Hong Kong's constitution related to changing the method of selecting the territory's chief executive and its legislature. "The committee aims to put an end to confusions and differences," it said. Beijing essentially appoints Hong Kong's chief executive, and only half of the territory's legislators will be chosen in direct elections this year. The opposition Democracy Party and its allies have pressed China to allow the direct election of the chief executive in 2007 and of all lawmakers in 2008. The Chinese government blasted Hong Kong's democracy advocates in a series of statements last month, but it refrained from ruling out elections, perhaps to avoid upsetting voters in Taiwan ahead of the island's March 20 presidential election. China now appears to be trying to undermine support for democratic reform in Hong Kong by using the political turmoil in Taiwan, where the defeated opposition candidate has refused to concede the election. Several pro-Beijing politicians and newspapers in Hong Kong have argued that introducing direct elections there could lead to similar division and unrest. China's announcement that it would issue a legal ruling on political reform took Hong Kong by surprise. Hong Kong's chief executive, Tung Chee-hwa, said at a hastily arranged news conference that he had asked a government task force conducting public consultations on the subject to finish its work quickly and brief Beijing on its findings on Tuesday. "I fully understand that members of the public may feel surprised when they learn of the . . . decision to contemplate interpretation of the Basic Law," Tung said. He argued that "an authoritative decision" by Beijing would eliminate uncertainty and lay the foundation for realistic discussions of political reform in the territory. But democracy advocates criticized the move as premature and a violation of the high degree of autonomy promised Hong Kong upon its return to Chinese rule in 1997, and they warned it could provoke a public outcry. washingtonpost.com lurqer