The manner by which Hong Kong selects its next Chief Executive (CE) in 2017 may be a bellwether for the prospects for the democratization of the city's governance system. Although China's leaders have agreed in principle that the Chief Executive for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (HKSAR) may be chosen by universal suffrage in 2017, the conditions placed on the method of nominating candidates may prove to be unacceptable to the people of Hong Kong and the city's legislature, the Legislative Council (Legco). Hong Kong's current Chief Executive, Leung Chun-ying (C.Y. Leung), submitted his proposed resolution to change the CE selection process to Legco on June 17, 2015. Controversies over restrictions on the CE's proposal to Legco imposed by an August 2014 decision of China's National People's Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC) have led to ongoing protests across Hong Kong and serious opposition from some Legco members. On June 18, 2015, Legco voted 28 against and 8 in favor, thereby defeating the resolution. It remains to be seen if this effectively ends prospects for reforming the CE selection method before the 2017 election, or if the NPCSC, CE Leung, or Legco will identify a new path toward the CE's election by universal suffrage. Since Hong Kong's reversion from British to Chinese sovereignty in 1997, many of the people of Hong Kong have looked forward to and campaigned for the fulfilment of the promise contained in the city's Basic Law—the election of the Chief Executive and Legco by universal suffrage. Past attempts to reform Hong Kong's election process have had mixed results. In December 2005, Legco voted down proposed CE election reforms after up to 250,000 people rallied against the proposed reforms. On December 29, 2007, in response to a request from then CE Donald Tsang Yam-kuen, the NPCSC issued "Decision on Issues Relating to the Methods of Selecting the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and for Forming the Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in the Year 2012 and on Issues Relating to Universal Suffrage," which stated that the Chief Executive may be elected by universal suffrage in 2017. Despite the apparent promise in the NPCSC's December 2007 decision, legislation in 2010 to make modest changes in the CE selection process were approved by Legco only after the PRC government and Hong Kong's Democratic Party struck a last-minute agreement. The prospects for democratic election reforms in Hong Kong are of potential interest to Congress for several reasons. First, the U.S.-Hong Kong Policy Act of 1992 (22 U.S.C. 5731; P.L. 102-383 ) states, "Support for democratization is a fundamental principle of U.S. foreign policy. As such, it naturally applies to United States policy toward Hong Kong." Second, how China handles the possible democratic election reforms in Hong Kong is one indicator of its commitment to its "one country, two systems" policy as it applies to Hong Kong, as well as its tolerance of political reform in general. Third, Hong Kong plays an important role for U.S. economic interests in Asia. If the Chinese and Hong Kong governments are unable to formulate CE election reforms acceptable to Legco and the people of Hong Kong, possibly continued and intensified political unrest could harm Hong Kong's ability to function as an economic hub for U.S. interests in Asia. Fourth, the resolution of Hong Kong's political reforms may have an impact on relations between China and Taiwan. The crux of the political controversy around the possible CE election reforms is the process of nominating the official candidates. Article 45 of the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (generally referred to as the "Basic Law") states The method for selecting the Chief Executive shall be specified in the light of the actual situation in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and in accordance with the principle of gradual and orderly progress. The ultimate aim is the selection of the Chief Executive by universal suffrage upon nomination by a broadly representative nominating committee in accordance with democratic procedures. [Emphasis added.] In its August 2014 decision, the NPCSC approved the selection of the Chief Executive in 2017 by universal suffrage, but restricted the number of nominees to either two or three candidates, and also stipulated that the nominating committee (NC) be "made in accordance with the number of members, composition and formation method of the Election Committee for the Fourth Chief Executive [C.Y. Leung]." In addition, the NPCSC decision stipulated that to be officially nominated, a candidate "must have the endorsement of more than half of all the members of the nominating committee." In the eyes of the pro-democracy Legco members (see text box, "Pan-democrats and Pro-establishment: Political Labels in Hong Kong"), many Hong Kong political analysts, and the participants in the ongoing protests in Hong Kong, the constraints contained in the August 2014 NPCSC decision effectively preclude the nomination of a pro-democracy candidate for Chief Executive, and give the Chinese government indirect control over the official nomination process. All of the pro-democracy Legco members, commonly referred to as the "pan-democrats," have stated they will vote against any proposal that complies with the August 2014 NPCSC decision. The various pro-democracy voices in Hong Kong have called upon the NPCSC to revise or amend its August 2014 decision to provide for more flexibility in the nomination process, and have pressed CE Leung to urge NPCSC to reconsider the constraints imposed by its decision. Neither the Chinese government nor the Hong Kong government has demonstrated a willingness to reconsider their decisions regarding the 2017 CE election reforms. Underlying the objections to the NPCSC August 2014 decision is the perception that the constraints violate the spirit and the intent of past commitments by the Chinese government to allow Hong Kong a high degree of autonomy over its governance and a promise to allow the people of Hong Kong to elect their Chief Executive through a free and fair democratic process. These perceived promises and commitments can be traced back at least 25 years to the 1990 passage of the Basic Law, and contribute to the sense of frustration among many Hong Kong residents with the latest NPCSC decision. However, Chinese and Hong Kong officials assert that the NPCSC August 2014 decision complies with China's international commitments and the laws governing the HKSAR, and is consistent with past statements regarding the adoption of universal suffrage in Hong Kong elections. Annex I of the Basic Law, as amended, stipulates that "the Chief Executive shall be elected by a broadly representative Election Committee in accordance with this Law and appointed by the Central People's Government." Annex I requires that the Election Committee be composed of 1,200 members, with 300 members from each of the following four sectors: (1) industrial, commercial and financial sectors; (2) the professions; (3) labor, social services, religious, and other sectors; and (4) members of the Legislative Council, representatives of district-based organizations, Hong Kong deputies to the National People's Congress, and Hong Kong members of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. Election Committee members serve for five years. Annex I also stipulates that the delimitation of the various sectors, the organization in each sector eligible to return Election Committee members and the number of such members returned by each of these organizations shall be prescribed by an electoral law enacted by the Hong Kong Special Administration Region in accordance with the principles of democracy and openness. In addition, Annex I states that candidates for CE are to be nominated by receiving the support of no fewer than 150 Election Committee members and that each member can nominate only one candidate. To elect the CE, Election Committee members "shall vote in their individual capacities" by secret ballot on a "one-person-one-vote basis," with the specific election method stipulated in the HKSAR electoral law. The Chief Executive Election Ordinance (CEEO) is the main HKSAR law governing the Chief Executive selection process. The CEEO establishes the specific procedures and rules by which candidates are nominated and the future Chief Executive is selected by the Election Committee. The CEEO also determines the specific number of seats granted to the designated subsectors of the four sectors enumerated in Annex I of the Basic Law (see Appendix A ), and stipulates who is eligible to vote for Election Committee members for each of the subsectors. In some cases, the voters are individuals, and in some cases companies or organizations are entitled to vote. According to the HKSAR government, there were just under 250,000 registered voters for the last Election Committee subsector elections held in December 2011. Nearly a quarter of the 1,200 Election Committee members were chosen in uncontested subsector elections. For the contested seats, 27.6% of the eligible voters participated in the election. (See Appendix A for details.) For the last Chief Executive election held in 2012, the Election Committee nominated three candidates—Albert Ho Chun-yan, at the time, chair of the pan-democratic Democratic Party; Leung Chun-ying, a pro-establishment ex-Legco and Executive Council member; and Henry Tang Ying-yen, a pro-establishment ex-Chief Secretary of Hong Kong. On March 25, 2012, the Election Committee chose Leung Chun-ying with 689 votes. Henry Tang finished second with 285 votes, and Albert Ho received 76 votes. Annex I of the Basic Law also establishes the procedures to amend the selection process for the Chief Executive.