HONG KONG -- Activists have campaigned for decades to bring full democracy to Hong Kong, and China promised -- when it resumed control of the city from Britain in 1997 -- to work toward introducing universal suffrage.
But changes to the city's legislature -- the Legislative Council -- and election system approved this week by the National People's Congress Standing Committee in Beijing will erect new hurdles for anyone seeking to run for office as well as diminish the public's role in electing both legislators and the city's chief executive.
