Thousands of people protested in Hong Kong yesterday to oppose a Chinese plan for electoral reform that will prevent critics of Beijing from running for chief executive in the former British colony.

China unveiled a framework for universal suffrage – one person, one vote – for the 2017 election of chief executive, the top political job in the Chinese territory, but set tough conditions that will ensure Beijing can vet candidates in advance.

“Hong Kong people will have one person, one vote, but Beijing will select all the candidates – puppets. What is the difference between a rotten apple, a rotten orange and a rotten banana?” said Martin Lee, founder of the Democratic party. “We want genuine universal suffrage and not democracy with Chinese characteristics.”