Hong Kong lawmakers reject Beijing-backed reform package

[WorldNews]

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Hong Kong lawmakers rejected a Beijing-backed political reform package on Thursday as pro-democracy legislators united to vote down a contentious electoral roadmap that has sparked mass protests. Most pro-government lawmakers staged a walkout as the bill headed for defeat -- a move slammed as "farcical" by the opposition and which analysts said could be interpreted as a slap in the face for the current administration. Although the Hong Kong government's plan would have given all residents the right to vote for the chief executive for the first time in 2017, it adhered to a Beijing ruling that candidates must be vetted by a loyalist committee.

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