Beijing Loses Hong Kong Vote

Hong Kong residents told Beijing to shove totalitarianism where the sun doesn't shine -- to the extent a fairly minor election let residents of the former British colony express their views on larger issues:

HONG KONG, Dec. 3 (AP) - (Kyodo) — Former top civil servant and pro-democracy candidate Anson Chan won Hong Kong's Legislative Council by-election Sunday by a significant margin over pro-establishment candidate Regina Ip, according to voting results Monday.

"I am glad to announce that I have won in the by-election," Chan said after the results were announced in the early morning. "The victory belongs not to me but Hong Kong people who love democracy. The results show that Hong Kong is ready for universal suffrage."

Of 321,000 votes, Chan, former chief secretary for administration, received more than 175,000, while Ip, former security secretary, garnered 137,000. ...

Both Chan and Ip called for universal suffrage by 2012, when the next elections of the chief executive and all 60 legislators are to be held, but Ip added preconditions that consensus must be reached among the Hong Kong public and that Beijing's approval must be granted.

Chan has received support from the pro-democracy camp, while Ip has been backed by pro-Beijing political parties and business groups.

The world's march towards democracy continues ...