HK BY-ELECTION RESULTS
ENTREPRENEUR RAPE CASE
MILITARY TRIAL RE-OPENED
WEB ACCESS RETURNS TO XINJIANG
BEIJING'S "HOUSE STEALING GIRL"
SHANGHAI "NOT WORLD CLASS"

Hundreds of pro-democracy supporters turned out in Hong Kong's Central district this week, following the staged resignation of a group of legislators. The government has played down the significance of the move, while a stalemate looks to be the likely result.

The political system in Hong Kong has, in the words of the New York Times, "grown increasingly paralyzed" as many have become dissatisfied with the lack of democracy in the former British colony.

Five legislators in Hong Kong resigned their seats earlier this week, in the hope that the resulting by-election would be seen as a de facto referendum on universal suffrage. Democrats want full direct elections by 2012 – instead of 2017, the timetable set by Beijing.

The death sentence handed down to (The execution of) British drug smuggler Akmal Shaikh and the requests for clemency from the British government and other groups has highlighted the conflicting attitudes towards both the death penalty and the defense of "diminished responsibility" in China and the UK.