Beijing interprets Basic Law

The National People's Congress passed a resolution requiring Beijing's approval for all political reforms in Hong Kong. The resolution was the result of deliberations in the capital over the central government's official interpretation of Hong Kong's constitution, the Basic Law, which was implemented when sovereignty of the territory was transferred to China by the UK. Hong Kong activists had been pressing Beijing for direct elections for the territory's government and had interpreted the Basic Law as providing for Hong Kong's chief executive to be elected by 2007.