HONG KONG - The country should adopt its own electoral system in accordance with its own domestic situation, Qiao Xiaoyang, deputy secretary-general of the National People's Congress Standing Committee, said on Monday.
The electoral methods in Hong Kong should comply with the principles of "universal" and "equal", but they must also fulfill Hong Kong's legal position as a special administrative region (SAR), he said.
Qiao made his points in Beijing after the Hong Kong SAR government had earlier in the day given notice to put the two 2012 electoral packages to a vote in the Legislative Council on June 23.
The purpose of the motions is to amend Annexes I & II of the Basic Law. The first motion aims to increase the size of the Election Committee that selects the chief executive from 800 to 1,200 members, with the increase equally distributed across the four sectors of the Election Committee.
The second motion proposes an increase of 10 lawmakers, on a 50-50 ratio between the geographical and functional constituencies (FC). As for the electoral methods of the five new FC seats, they, together with the existing FC seat for the district council constituency, will be returned to all the elected district council members through the system of proportional representation.
However, the pan democrats on Monday held a rally together with 38 community organizations.
Civic Party leader Audrey Eu, who will debate with Chief Executive Donald Tsang on June 17, said they would oppose the packages. She also urged the government to withdraw the packages and to come up with more democratic ones that move toward universal suffrage.
Speaking to the press in Beijing, Qiao said the core matter of universal suffrage is the protection of election rights and the compliance of the "universal" and "equal" principles.
He also said it is an international understanding that each country is legally allowed to impose reasonable restrictions on election rights and that each country may adopt different electoral systems to reflect the "universal" and "equal" principles.
The electoral methods of the chief executive and Legislative Council in Hong Kong should be "universal" and "equal", he said.
However, universal suffrage in Hong Kong should also fulfill other conditions. Apart from complying with Hong Kong's legal status as an SAR and its executive-led political system, universal suffrage should also cater to the interests of different segments of the community and to economic development, while bearing the consensus in mind, he said.
Qiao also said the five new Legislative Council seats should be returned through the district council constituency in 2012.
He also noted the pan democrats have proposed to have the FC make the nominations before letting all the registered voters return the newly-added FC seats.
But he has also listened to diverse opinions, including the sentiment that the democrats' proposal is a defacto direct election, which is inconsistent with the 2007 decision of the National People's Congress Standing Committee.
On the controversial functional constituency, Qiao said it has existed in the local electoral history and therefore merits an objective assessment. It also should not become an obstacle to the 2012 electoral arrangement, he said.
Calling Qiao's comments proactive, Li Gang, deputy director of the liaison office of the Central People's Government in Hong Kong, said they reflect the central government's stance and principles, which could help people better understand the central government's position.
Li also said Qiao's comments amounted to a reply to demands made by the democrats to Li during meetings with them weeks ago.
Chief Executive Donald Tsang said Qiao's remarks have provided a definition of universal suffrage, which cleared some people's doubts about the concept.
He also said Hong Kong is now one step away from universal suffrage and that the 2012 packages are both democratic and progressive. He further called on lawmakers to look at the bigger picture and to support the packages. If they are vetoed again, the people of Hong Kong will feel very disappointed, he added.
In response, Democratic Party Chairman Albert Ho said Qiao has not cleared their doubts and the nine votes of the party will go against the government proposals.