On Aug 31, the National People's Congress Standing Committee decided that candidates for Hong Kong's chief executive (CE) election in 2017 must be endorsed by the majority of nominating committee members, instead of open nominations. Describing the decision, China's top legislator Zhang Dejiang said it is significant for the gradual democratization of Hong Kong.

In Hong Kong, however, the decision has been intensely criticized by the pan-democrats, while the "Occupy Central" group has vowed to go ahead with civil disobedience. In the summer, the latter did draw tens of thousands of protesters to the streets. But much of Hong Kong is growing wary of such vocal confrontations.

Recently, Hong Kong's business communities and the Alliance for Peace and Democracy mobilized thousands in a march to oppose the "Occupy Central" goals. These groups have collected more than 1.3 million signatures, far more than "Occupy Central" did in June.