HONG KONG (Reuters) - The head of China's parliament warned on Thursday that importing western-style democracy for a planned direct election in Hong Kong in 2017 could lead to "disastrous" results, a delegate who attended the closed-door meeting said.
Hong Kong returned to Chinese rule in 1997 with wide-ranging autonomy, an independent judiciary and relatively free press under the formula of "one country, two systems" - along with an undated promise of full democracy, an issue never broached by the British during 150 years of colonial rule.