A Hong Kong government vote Saturday night approved an US$8.6 billion high-speed railway to link the city with Shenzhen and Guangzhou by 2015, reported the Wall Street Journal. Hundreds of protesters amassed in front the Hong Kong legislature in the hours leading up to the decision, obstructing the paths of legislators and claiming that the railway benefitted only private interests at the expense of Hong Kong residents. The legislature gave the project the go-ahead in a 31-21, largely partisan vote. In reaction to the decision, some lawmakers threatened to resign en masse and use the resulting by-elections as a means of conducting a referendum on the special administrative region’s democratic reforms. The State Council said an attempt of any such actions would be a challenege to Beijing’s authority and would lead to more conflict.
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