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Following is a question by Dr Hon Kwok Ka-ki and a reply by the Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs, Mr Raymond Tam, in the Legislative Council today (June 3):
Question:
On April 22 this year, the Government published the Consultation Report and Proposals on the Method for Selecting the Chief Executive by Universal Suffrage. In addressing this Council on that day, the Chief Secretary for Administration pointed out that "after the Chief Executive (CE) is selected by universal suffrage through 'one person, one vote' in 2017, the ultimate aim of the selection of the CE by universal suffrage as prescribed in Article 45 of the Basic Law will have been attained." There are comments that as the pan-democratic Members of the Legislative Council (LegCo) have repeatedly indicated that they will vote against the constitutional reform package proposed by the Government for selecting CE by universal suffrage in 2017, the chance for the passage of the constitutional reform package by this Council is very slim. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether the Government will, after the constitutional reform package is negatived by this Council, expeditiously restart the "Five-step Process" of constitutional reform regarding the selection of CE by universal suffrage, so as to attain the ultimate aim of the selection of the CE by universal suffrage as prescribed in Article 45 of the Basic Law; if it will, of the specific timetable;
(2) as some members of the public have criticised that the public consultation conducted by the Task Force on Constitutional Development (comprising the Chief Secretary for Administration, the Secretary for Justice and the Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs) was not comprehensive, ignoring the views of some members of the public, whether the Government has assessed if the three Secretaries of Departments and Director of Bureau should be held politically accountable for the constitutional reform package being negatived by this Council and tender resignation; if it has, of the details; and
(3) given that Article 50 of the Basic Law stipulates that if LegCo refuses to pass a budget or any other important bill introduced by the Government, and if consensus still cannot be reached after consultations, CE may dissolve LegCo, whether CE will dissolve LegCo after the constitutional reform package is negatived by this Council, so as to restart the "Five-step Process" of constitutional reform regarding the selection of CE by universal suffrage?
Reply:
Acting President,
The HKSAR Government published on April 22, 2015 the Consultation Report and Proposals on the Method for Selecting the Chief Executive by Universal Suffrage (Consultation Report and Proposals). The proposals for selecting the Chief Executive (CE) by universal suffrage put forward by the HKSAR Government are constitutional, lawful, fair and reasonable. We sincerely hope that the general public and Members of the Legislative Council (LegCo) would support the proposals, so that five million eligible voters of Hong Kong could select the next CE by universal suffrage through "one person, one vote" in 2017 as scheduled. Our reply to the questions raised by Dr Hon Kwok is as follows:
(1) The HKSAR Government has repeatedly emphasised, and also stated clearly in the Consultation Report and Proposals as well as in the statement made by the Chief Secretary for Administration on April 22 at the LegCo meeting, that according to the Decision of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress on Issues Relating to the Selection of the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region by Universal Suffrage and on the Method for Forming the Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in the Year 2016, if the motion to amend Annex I to the Basic Law concerning the method for the selection of the CE is not endorsed by a two-thirds majority of all the Members of the LegCo, the CE in 2017 would continue to be elected by the 1 200-member Election Committee. Constitutional development will come to a standstill, the aim of selecting the CE by universal suffrage will fall through, and it would then be even more difficult to know when the aim of selecting all the Members of the LegCo by universal suffrage could be achieved. Some people suggest vetoing the proposals so as to restart the "Five-step Process" immediately. However, this is legally infeasible and impracticable in terms of legislative timetable, and hence is an unrealistic proposition. Therefore, the HKSAR Government urges LegCo Members and political parties to demonstrate their courage and determination at this critical moment, act in the overall and long-term interests of Hong Kong, heed the strong aspiration of the majority of Hong Kong people, and support the constitutional development proposals, so that Hong Kong could achieve universal suffrage as scheduled, and allow constitutional development to continue to move forward.
(2) Since the establishment of the Task Force on Constitutional Development (Task Force) led by the Chief Secretary for Administration on October 17, 2013, the HKSAR Government has conducted two rounds of extensive and systematic public consultations on the method for selecting the CE by universal suffrage, and truthfully reflected the views of the public received during the consultation periods. All the written submissions received were uploaded in full to the constitutional development website for public inspection. We absolutely disagree with the unreasonable allegation made by Dr Hon Kwok that the public consultations conducted by the Task Force were "not comprehensive, ignoring the views of some members of the public".
At this moment, the most important task of the HKSAR Government is to strive to secure endorsement of the proposals for selecting the CE by universal suffrage by a two-thirds majority of all the Members of the LegCo, so that five million eligible voters could select the CE by universal suffrage in 2017 through "one person, one vote". The LegCo has an important constitutional role and responsibility in the constitutional development of Hong Kong. I urge all Members to act in the overall and long-term interests of Hong Kong and support the proposals put forward by the HKSAR Government.
(3) The concept of "important bill" under Article 50 of the Basic Law only applies to local legislation. Amendments to the method for selecting the CE are, by nature, amendments to the provisions of Annex I to the Basic Law, and hence are part of the constitutional arrangements, not amendments to local legislation. Therefore, Article 50 of the Basic Law is not applicable to the amendments to the method for selecting the CE.
Ends/Wednesday, June 3, 2015
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