Beijing to allow Hong Kong democracy in 2017

Hong Kong’s communist leaders in Beijing said they would allow the territory to directly elect its own leader in 2017 and all its lawmakers after that, but critics warned China would still be in control behind the scenes.

“A timetable for obtaining universal suffrage has been set,” Hong Kong’s leader, Donald Tsang, said in announcing Beijing’s decision early today. “Hong Kong is entering a most important chapter of its constitutional history.”