Hong Kong people should concentrate on economic development and improving people's livelihoods, Chinese president Hu Jintao said Sunday, according to dpa. Hu delivered his remarks at a breakfast meeting with the territory's Chief Executive Donald Tsang on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Sydney. The clear implication of Hu's remarks are that people in the city of 6.9 million should concentrate on making money and stop badgering China for democracy. The Hong Kong government, under pressure from pro-democracy activists, has launched a consultation exercise over possible steps towards universal suffrage. Currently, there is no popular vote for the position of chief executive and only half of Hong Kong's 60 legislators are directly elected. After his meeting with the Chinese president, Tsang said he had discussed the consultation exercise but that Hu said Hong Kong people should focus on "furthering economic development and improving people's livelihoods." Hu pointed out that property and stock prices in the former British colony were doing well and unemployment was down and said such economic gains should be "consolidated for the welfare of the people". Asked by reporters afterwards if he had discussed a timetable for democracy with the Chinese leader, Tsang replied: "We didn't go into that specific. "We talked in general terms about the latest situation in Hong Kong embracing economic, political and social aspects." Hong Kong is technically entitled to full democracy from 2007 under its mini-constitution but China and the territory's Beijing-led administration have so far declined to take any concrete steps towards freer elections. Hong Kong was a British colony for 156 years before reverting to Chinese sovereignty under a "one country two systems" arrangement in July 1997.
