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Regarding media enquiries on the proposal put forth by the opposition camp on universal suffrage models, a spokesman for the Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau gave the following response today (September 7):
"We note the proposal put forth by the opposition camp on the electoral methods to return the Chief Executive (CE) and the Legislative Council (Legco) by universal suffrage.
According to the decision made by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress in December 2007, the CE may be elected by universal suffrage in 2017 and all Members of Legco may be elected by universal suffrage in 2020. The decision also stated that appropriate amendments conforming to the principle of gradual and orderly progress may be made to the two electoral methods for 2012.
The universal suffrage timetable set by the Standing Committee has provided a clear direction for Hong Kong to roll forward our democratic development towards universal suffrage, which can be attained in three phases.
Firstly, the HKSAR Government will consult the public and Legco on the electoral methods for the CE and Legco for 2012 in the fourth quarter of this year, and will welcome the views of different sectors of the community and different political parties. We should emphasise that the aim of the current-term HKSAR Government is to determine the two electoral methods for 2012 within its tenure, so as to inject new democratic elements into the arrangements. This will pave the way for implementing universal suffrage for the CE and Legco in 2017 and 2020 respectively.
As for the specific models for implementing universal suffrage, the fourth-term CE and the fifth-term Legco should, between 2012 and 2017, address together the method for implementing universal suffrage for the CE in 2017.
The CE returned by universal suffrage in 2017 will have to work with the sixth-term Legco to deal with issue of universal suffrage models for the Legco in 2020."
Ends/Monday, September 7, 2009
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