Hong Kong's chief executive has been selected by an elite, predominantly Beijing-friendly committee since 1997, when Britain handed administrative control over the territory to mainland China.
Protesters were demanding a more democratic voting process for the city's next chief executive elections, in 2017, rejecting Beijing's requirement that candidates be screened by a mainland-friendly committee.
An anti-birthright citizenship bill, which initially failed to muster the votes necessary to proceed, was finally approved Tuesday after Senate President Russell Pearce (R) shrewdly reassigned it to a "friendlier" committee.
Child-friendly committees Eighteen of the 20 communities along the Tuira and Alto Tuira areas, including small towns near the conflict-affected Colombian border, have formed child-friendly committees.
Eighteen of the 20 communities along the Tuira and Alto Tuira areas, including small towns near the conflict-affected Colombian border, have formed child-friendly committees.
"We were as concerned about Latinos being in the mix as we were that other candidates were Latino-friendly," one committee member said.
Despite criticism that such a large event could not be carbon-friendly, the presidential committee incorporated environment-friendly measures in its planning of the inaugural events.
Environmentally friendly farming: A committee was formed by women from each family to ensure that vibrant kitchen gardens were maintained by each household.
Within the framework of the initiative "Child Friendly School", a committee is currently visiting the different schools of the country in order to evaluate them in the light of some specific criteria such as girls' education.
"There is always what we call a friendly rivalry between committees here," said Representative Porter J. Goss, the Florida Republican who is chairman of the House Intelligence Committee.
