Based on the results of public consultation, the Chief Executive of the HKSAR made the report to the NPC Standing Committee and asked if there is a need to amend the methods for selecting the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and for forming the Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in 2012.
Qiao said, in accordance with the relevant articles of the HKSAR Basic Law and opinions of all the members of the NPC Standing Committee, and with consideration of opinions from other sources, the first article of the draft decision goes like this: "The election of the fourth Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in the year 2012 shall not be implemented by the method of universal suffrage. The election of the fifth term Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in the year 2012 shall not be implemented by the method of electing all the members by universal suffrage. The half-and-half ratio between members returned by functional constituencies and members returned by geographical constituencies through direct elections shall remain unchanged. The procedures for voting on bills and motions in the Legislative Council shall remain unchanged. Subject to the aforementioned, appropriate amendments conforming to the principle of gradual and orderly progress may be made to the specific method for selecting the fourth Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in the year 2012 and the specific method for forming the fifth term Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in the year 2012 in accordance with the provisions of Article 45 and 68, and those of Article 7 of Annex I and Article III of Annex II to the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China."
There are three major reasons for putting the first article this way. Firstly, in accordance with the HKSAR Basic Law, the methods for selecting the Chief Executive and forming the Legislative Council of the HKSAR should be amended in an orderly and gradual way, with the final aim of achieving universal suffrage for both, Qiao said.