Appropriate amendments to the specific methods for selecting the Chief Executive and for forming the Legislative Council of the HKSAR in the year 2012, can be taken as the intermediate station toward the universal suffrage, and will be beneficial to final achievement of universal suffrage, Qiao said.
However, the amendments should be made under the precondition of no universal suffrage for both the election of the fourth Chief Executive of the HKSAR and the election of the fifth term Legislative Council of the HKSAR in the year 2012, he said.
Secondly, judging from the results of public consultation in Hong Kong, within the Legislative Council, only less than half of the council members supported "Double Universal Suffrage" in 2012,half of the council members are in favor of universal suffrage first for electing of Chief Executive of the HKSAR in 2017 or later than 2017, and then introduce the universal suffrage for the election of the Legislative Council, Qiao said.
He said more than two-thirds of the 18 district councils passed motions to support universal suffrage for the Chief Executive election in 2017 or no later than 2017, and then follows the universal suffrage for the Legislative Council election.
Public opinion poll showed that although more than half of the Hong Kong residents surveyed said that they hope "double universal suffrage" can be practiced in 2012, about 60 percent said they can accept that the universal suffrage for Chief Executive election delayed till 2017 if it cannot be practiced in 2012, while more than half said they accept that the universal suffrage for the Legislative Council election be delayed till 2016 or later than 2016. More than 150,000 Hong Kong residents signed to support the universal suffrage for Chief Executive election either no later than 2017 or in 2017 or after 2017, among which 130,000 supported the practice of universal suffrage for Chief Executive first and universal suffrage for Legislative council second.
Qiao said based on those results, the HKSAR Chief Executive's report said: "It will be more likely to get support from the majority of Hong Kong society if the universal suffrage of Chief Executive can be adopted no later than 2017." According to this, members of the NPC Standing Committee hold that not to adopt "double universal suffrage" for Chief Executive Election and Legislative Council election or "universal suffrage" for one of them in 2012, but choose to make amendments in an orderly and gradual way, is based on public opinions and is appropriate.
Thirdly, the relevant regulations of HKSAR Basic Law concerning the election of the members of Legislative Council returned by functional constituencies form an institutional arrangement which is issued in accordance with the real situation of Hong Kong. The good operation of the system shows that it is beneficial to all the social strata of Hong Kong and the balanced political participation of all social circles and the development of capital economy. Therefore, the decision said that the half-and-half ratio between members returned by functional constituencies and members returned by geographical constituencies through direct elections shall unchanged, he said.