Hong Kong election bill faces likely defeat by lawmakers

Hong Kong election reform proposals that sparked massive street protests last year in the southern Chinese financial center are being presented Wednesday to the legislature, where it faces likely defeat from pro-democracy lawmakers. The proposals tabled for a legislature debate would allow the former British colony’s top leader to be chosen by voters through direct elections rather than by a 1,200-member panel of mostly Beijing-friendly elites. But under guidelines laid down by China’s central government, voters would only be able to choose from a set of candidates screened by the panel. Pro-democracy leaders have blasted the plan as “sham democracy,” saying the...