Government's response to procession on constitutional development
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In response to the procession today (June 10), a Government spokesman said that the Central Authorities and the Hong Kong SAR Government were firmly committed to promoting constitutional development in order to achieve the ultimate aim of universal suffrage in accordance with the Basic Law.
He said, "For the first time in Hong Kong's history, the Basic Law has set universal suffrage as the ultimate aim for our constitutional development. It also represents the common aspiration shared by the Central Authorities, the Government and the public."
During his election campaign, the Chief Executive (CE) had already made it clear that he would endeavour to take forward discussions within the community on the issue of implementing universal suffrage, with a view to coming up with a solution within his new term.
The spokesman said, "The CE has undertaken to publish a Green Paper on constitutional development in mid-2007, after the third term HKSAR Government has been formed in July, to consult the public on the options, roadmap and timetable for implementing universal suffrage.
"At this stage, we have not drawn any conclusions on the model for implementing universal suffrage, and have not rejected any proposal. All proposals received from political parties, different organisations and individuals will be covered by the Green Paper.
"Any proposals put forth for discussion by the community should be consistent with the Basic Law, and should not require any amendments to the main provisions of the Basic Law."
He said that the HKSAR Government would consult the public widely on the Green Paper and would listen to the views of Legislative Council Members, individuals from different sectors and strata, as well as district personalities.
"Following the end of the three-month public consultation period, we will summarise the views of the community and assess whether there is a foundation for us to come up with a set of mainstream views for taking forward the work to the next phase.
"To form a mainstream view within the community, different political parties, organisations and individuals must build on common ground and accommodate mutual differences, and must be willing to consider the proposals of other people seriously with an open mind, so as to secure consensus for implementing universal suffrage in Hong Kong. We will submit a report to the Central Authorities reflecting faithfully any mainstream views formed and other views expressed." the spokesman said.
Ends/Sunday, June 10, 2007
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