HONG KONG, June 18 -- China's Hong Kong Legislative Council on Thursday vetoed a motion of the proposed universal suffrage for selecting the region's next chief executive in 2017.

After a nine-hour debate which started on Wednesday, 28 lawmakers of the Legislative Council voted against the motion while eight voted in favor.

Many lawmakers left the chamber of the legislature building before the vote.

According to a decision by the Standing Committee of China's National People's Congress, the motion needs to be endorsed by at least two-thirds of all the 70 lawmakers, or 47 votes, in the Legislative Council.