Pro-democracy Chan wins symbolic Hong Kong election

HONG KONG (Reuters) - A former top civil servant dubbed "Hong Kong's conscience" has won a highly symbolic by-election for a seat in the city's legislature in a vote widely seen as a referendum on democracy in the former British colony.

The victory by Anson Chan, 67, former deputy to last British governor Chris Patten, was good news for the city's pro-democracy political camp, which suffered a beating in district council polls last month at the hands of the biggest pro-Beijing party.

Accepting victory on Monday, a grinning Chan said the results from Sunday's election proved that Hong Kong people wanted universal suffrage by 2012, the date for the next election for the city's leader.

"My experience on the campaign trail has convinced me even more that genuine democracy is the only way of ultimately safeguarding our freedoms and values and of building a compassionate, fair and more just society," she said.

Britain handed Hong Kong back to Communist-ruled China in 1997, since when the territory has enjoyed sweeping autonomy in many areas, but not in political reform.

The city's constitution makes universal suffrage the ultimate aim of political reform, but is vague on the timing and direction. The British themselves never pushed the idea until the dying days of colonial rule under Patten.

Chan's margin over her main rival, Regina Ip, was higher than expected after opinion polls showed the gap narrowing in recent days.

DEMOCRACY

"I think it shows that a lot of middle class people in Hong Kong still care about democracy, even though the economy is getting better, the stock market is rising, and the economy is more dependent on China," said Ma Ngok, associate professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

"This is something that Beijing needs to think about."

Since 1997, however, the democratic camp's traditional overall support rate of about 60 percent has slipped and some experts warn that it must rethink its single-issue approach to elections. Chan won about 54 percent of the vote.

"This is the time for the pan-democrats to have a thorough review," said James Sung of City University. "But I'm suspicious ... since this was a clear victory for Anson I'm afraid that the pan-democratic group will not look thoroughly at the changing political climate."

Despite losing, Ip's strong showing demonstrated once again, after the district council elections, that the pro-Beijing camp's election machine that backed her is formidable.

It also marked the rebirth of a politician who is remembered for trying to force an unpopular anti-subversion law through the legislature in 2003 as security chief. That bid is blamed for sparking a protest that drew half a million people onto the streets, shocking leaders in Beijing.

Analysts say, Ip, 57, is well positioned for a run in full Legislative Council elections next year.

Currently, the chief executive is selected by an 800-seat committee under the influence of the Communist leadership in Beijing, half of the legislature is popularly elected and the other is picked by "functional constituencies" of professions and special-interest groups.

(Editing by Nick Macfie and Rosalind Russell)