Just days before China was set to deliver its edict on electoral reform in Hong Kong, Beijing’s most senior official in the city held a rare meeting with several local lawmakers whose determined push for full democracy had incensed Beijing's Communist leaders.
Prime Minister David Cameron begged Scots on Wednesday not to rip apart Britain's "family of nations", visiting Scotland in an attempt to stem a steep rise in secessionist support ahead of a September 18 referendum on independence.
The British government is not making contingency plans for the possibility that Scots will vote for independence on Sept. 18, a spokesman for Prime Minister David Cameron said on Monday.
The British government is scrambling to respond to a lurch in the opinion polls toward a vote for Scottish independence this month by promising a range of new powers for Scotland if it chooses to stay within the United Kingdom.
