| Transcript of Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs' standup briefing |
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Following is a transcript of the standup briefing given by the Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs, Mr Stephen Lam, to the media after attending a radio programme this morning (July 12) (English portion): SCMA: I would say that this Government is firmly committed to the implementation of universal suffrage. We are beginning very early in our new term to commence public consultation on this issue. We have, very faithfully, reflected in the Green Paper all the proposals we have received in the last few years in the hope that we can arrive at a consensual view on how to take it forward. On the contrary, if we have no confidence or no intention to implement universal suffrage, we don't need to take these steps. We don't need to issue a Green Paper. We can just sit tight. But we do not want Hong Kong to maintain status quo. We are firmly committed to attaining the ultimate aim of universal suffrage as stipulated in the Basic Law. We believe that this is in Hong Kong's interest, and we have every intention of going all the way to get this done. (Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.) Ends/Thursday, July 12, 2007 |