Senior Hong Kong civil servants were given the go-ahead on Thursday to challenge a government ban on them standing for the Beijing-backed panel to choose the territory 's first post-handover leader and lawmakers .
<response> Senior <location>Hong Kong</location> civil servants were given the go-ahead on Thursday to challenge a government ban on them standing for the <misc>Beijing-backed</misc> panel to choose the territory 's first post-handover leader and lawmakers . </response>