China says committed to universal suffrage in Hong Kong

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's parliament said on Thursday it remains committed to its proposed framework for universal suffrage for choosing Hong Kong's leader despite Hong Kong's legislature vetoing a China-vetted electoral reform package, state news agency Xinhua said. "Although the universal suffrage motion was not passed at the Legislative Council, the direction towards universal suffrage and the legal principles laid down in the decision of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, must continue to be upheld in future efforts to pursue universal suffrage," Xinhua quoted a statement from the NPC's Standing Committee as saying. (Reporting by Ben Blanchard and Sui-Lee Wee; Editing by Alex Richardson)