Pro-Beijing group plans new petition to support Hong Kong electoral reform

A pro-Beijing group that last year circulated a petition against the Occupy movement will stage a city-wide signature campaign next week in an attempt to put pressure on pan-democrats to support the government's electoral reform package.

The Alliance for Peace and Democracy - which claims to have 1,000 member organisations - intends to set up hundreds of booths to gather signatures from Hongkongers aged 18 and above.

But critics have already cast doubt on the credibility of the exercise as those who sign will not have to provide any proof of identity, meaning they could sign repeatedly or use fake names.

"Judging from the previous experience, I believe people will only sign once," a spokesman for the alliance, Robert Chow Yung, said as the group announced the campaign yesterday morning.

Chow was referring to the group's petition in October last year, which organisers said gained 1.83 million signatures from street-side booths and online. However, its credibility was called into question as media reports emerged of people signing up with fake names and identity card numbers, even though they were required to provide proof of identity.

In order for the reform package to pass, two-thirds of the Legislative Council's 70 lawmakers must vote for it. That means at least four pan-democrats must break ranks and vote yes.