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In my column last week I said Hong Kong people were waiting with bated breath for the decision by the National People’s Congress on what kind of democracy we can expect. The NPC (abbreviation for National People’s Congress) made its decision four days ago. Pan-democrats are extremely (very) dismayed by the decision. They have angrily rejected the NPC’s decision on political reforms as fake democracy. They have said the reforms are so conservative (careful, cautious) voters won’t have a genuine choice of candidates in Hong Kong’s first chief executive election through one person, one vote. The democracy camp will now rely on the Occupy Central civil disobedience protest to pressure the central government to change its mind.
 
This means Hong Kong people will once again have to wait with bated breath, this time to see when the Occupy Central protest will start and where it will be held. Many will also wait with bated breath to see if the Occupy Central protest can pressure the central government to change its mind. As I explained in my column last week, to wait with bated breath for something means to wait anxiously and excitedly for it. To be dismayed means to be very disappointed, upset or distressed. The word “reject” can be used in different ways but in this case it means to refuse to accept something because it is not good enough.
 

A big political showdown is coming soon. Brace yourselves for it. The showdown will be between the democracy camp and the central government. Leaders of the democracy camp set the wheels in motion for this showdown last Sunday when they gathered outside the chief executive's office to announce details of their civil disobedience action, which will end with the Occupy Central protest. The word "showdown" is used when there is a final confrontation between two sides to settle a dispute or disagreement. For example, triad gangs often settle a dispute with a big fight. This is called a showdown.
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Are you waiting with bated breath? Many Hong Kong people are waiting with bated breath for a very important decision this coming Sunday by the National People's Congress. The abbreviation (shortened form) of the National People's Congress is NPC. A reader recently pointed out to me that an abbreviation is different from an acronym. An acronym is an abbreviation that is formed with the first letters of words to become a word that can be pronounced. For example, APEC is the acronym for Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation. Hong Kong is a member of APEC. This year's APEC leaders' meeting will be held in November in Beijing.
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he NPC is not an acronym because it cannot be pronounced as a word. This Sunday the NPC is expected to make a very important decision on political reforms in Hong Kong. We will know what kind of democracy the central government will allow Hong Kong to have. The pan-democrats have said they will go ahead with the Occupy Central protest if the NPC decides to only allow a form of democracy that they consider as not true democracy. If Occupy Central goes ahead, 10,000 protesters will block the streets in Central, bringing traffic and business to a standstill. That is why many Hong Kong people are waiting with bated breath for this Sunday's NPC decision.
        If you are waiting with bated breath for something, it means you are waiting very anxiously and excitedly for something. People who are anxious or excited often hold their breath. That is how the expression "bated breath" originated. Students always wait with bated breath for their exam results. Many people spell the word "bated" incorrectly. They wrongly spell it as "baited breath". The word "bait" has a totally different meaning. It can be used in several ways. The small piece of food that people put on a hook to catch fish is called bait (noun). The word can also be used as a verb. For example, some news reports said money was used to bait (verb) people to join the anti-Occupy Central march.