The Legislative Council chamber was a surreal place yesterday. Pan-democrats who had fought for years for democracy decried a government package that would allow Hong Kong people to choose their leader by one person, one vote. Their Beijing-loyalist rivals, hardly known as staunch pro-democrats, argued in favour of universal suffrage. While supporters and opponents of reform made a colourful pitch outside, the atmosphere inside the chamber was sombre. Some lawmakers were close to tears, while others quoted Shakespeare or George Orwell to make their points on the first day of the historic debate. Each lawmaker had just 15 minutes to speak, and their remarks boiled down to a question of...
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