Pro-democracy Chan wins symbolic Hong Kong election

By John Ruwitch

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