Hong Kong Officials and Protesters Agree on Talks on Democracy

HONG KONG — Hong Kong’s government and the
student groups responsible for huge protests that have
attracted worldwide attention agreed on Tuesday
to hold negotiations on the future of democracy here,
but some students immediately expressed
disappointment at the narrow range
of the planned discussions....

In a preliminary session late Tuesday, government negotiators
and student leaders agreed that the formal talks set to begin
on Friday would address how to change the electoral system,
within the framework of the Basic Law, the mini-constitution
that governs Hong Kong.
The local authorities and the central government in
Beijing have insisted that the changes the students seek
are against those rules.

At stake is the method by which Hong Kong’s top official,
the chief executive, is chosen.
In late August, China’s legislature restricted candidates
for chief executive to those picked by a committee
dominated by Beijing loyalists, provoking the protests
that exploded on Sept. 28....
[...]http://www.nytimes.com