HK lawmaker says he'll quit to trigger by-election

Hong Kong

A VETERAN pro-democracy Hong Kong lawmaker has pledged to resign from the territory's legislature, triggering a by-election to allow residents to "vent their anger" at Chinese authorities over proposals on how the city chooses its next leader.

The issue was at the heart of months of mass protests in the former British colony where pro-democracy protesters blocked off stretches of main roads to call for true universal suffrage.

Albert Ho's announcement on Friday that he would resign from his seat in the city's Legislative Council is the latest show of defiance by Hong Kong's pro-democracy lawmakers, who have vowed to veto an…