The September 12 elections for the Legislative Council capped an active political year in Hong Kong.  Earlier in 2004, popular demonstrations in support of further democratic development in Hong Kong were met by central PRC government announcements postponing into the indefinite future direct election of all legislators and the chief executive.  These developments have called into question whether the concept of  "one country, two systems, enshrined in the Hong Kong Basic Law, is viable.  This CECC hearing will seek to understand the future of constitutional development and universal suffrage in Hong Kong in the aftermath of the September 12 election.

Statements of Members:

Congressman Jim Leach , Chairman, Congressional-Executive Commission on the People's Republic of China

Senator Chuck Hagel, Co-Chairman, Congressional-Executive Commission on the People's Republic of China

Statements of Witnesses:

Panel 1

Randall Schriver
Deputy Assistant Secretary
Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs
U.S. Department of State
Washington, D.C.

Panel 2

Dr. Michael Davis
(on sabbatical from The Chinese University of Hong Kong)
Robert and Marion Short Visiting Professor
Notre Dame Law School
South Bend, IN

Ms. Veron Hung
Associate, China Program,
Carnegie Endowment
Washington, DC

Dr. William H. Overholt
Asia Policy Chair
Center for Asia and Pacific Policy
RAND Corporation
Santa Monica, CA