Hong Kong political reform battle will hit the streets, both camps say

The battle to win over the public is set to heat up, as opponents and supporters of the government's package for the 2017 chief executive poll put maximum effort into reaching out to Hongkongers over the next two months.

On Saturday, top government officials will launch a citywide publicity campaign, handing out leaflets and joining bus tours. Leaders of the Beijing-loyalist camp said they might coordinate their efforts to mobilise the public with those of the government.

The publicity blitz will resemble the "Act Now" street campaign for a previous round of electoral reform in 2010.

On Sunday, pan-democrats - who have vowed to vote down the proposal when it goes to the Legislative Council in summer - will launch a campaign to counter the government's efforts. Joshua Wong Chi-fung, convenor of student activist group Scholarism, said his group planned to protest when officials met the public.

With Chief Secretary Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor pledging to "spare no effort" to seek public support, all eyes will be on a rolling poll by three universities that will be updated every Tuesday. Pollsters from the University of Hong Kong, Chinese University and Polytechnic University say the poll will offer a real-time indicator of Hongkongers' views right up until the eve of the Legco vote.

"We will follow the poll results closely," Lam said yesterday. "We will not be taking a confrontational approach. We will continue our lobbying efforts and ask them [pan-democrats] under what conditions they would support the electoral reform."