Celebrities voice support for decision on HKSAR’s constitutional development

HONG KONG—Renowned figures of Hong Kong Wednesday continued expressing their welcome and support to the decision by China’s top legislature on the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) constitutional development.
The celebrities from all walks of life said the decision made by the Standing Committee of the Chinese National People’s Congress (NPC), or China’s top legislature, on the constitutional development of HKSAR, had expressed the wishes of Hong Kong people, adding the implementation of the decision will take the most important step towards facilitating democracy and constitutional development in the region.
Earlier last week, the Standing Committee of the NPC adopted a decision on issues relating to the methods for selecting the Chief Executive and for forming the Legislative Council of the HKSAR in 2012 and on issues relating to universal suffrage. According to the NPC Standing Committee decision, appropriate amendments conforming to the principle of gradual and orderly progress may be made to the specific method for selecting the Chief Executive and that for forming the Legislative Council of the HKSAR in 2012.
At the same time, the decision made clear that the election of the Chief Executive may be implemented in 2017 through universal suffrage, and that after the Chief Executive is selected by universal suffrage, the election of the Legislative Council of the HKSAR may be implemented by the method of electing all the council members through universal suffrage. Elsie Leung, vice chairwoman of the Commission for the HKSAR Basic Law of the NPC Standing Committee, said the NPC Standing Committee decision could help reduce the disputes and boost social harmony in Hong Kong.
“Now that we have a clear timetable for universal suffrage, what the Hong Kong people have to do next is to study how to attain universal suffrage by implementing the NPC Standing Committee’s decision,” Leung said. “Implementing the NPC Standing Committee’s decision means taking the most important step towards promoting democracy and constitutional development in Hong Kong,” Leung said.
Savantas Policy Institute Chairperson of Board of Governors Regina Ip described the decision by the national legislature as “ the most important milestone” in the constitutional development of HKSAR. “The society should stand together with one accord to promote the constitutional development in a steadily manner,” Ip said. Chairman of the Basic Law Institute Alan Hoo said any discussion on universal suffrage in Hong Kong should be based on the Basic Law, adding “we should have confidence in ourselves and redouble our efforts to reach the consensus for a way to implementing the universal suffrage in Hong Kong.”
Timothy Ka-ying Wong, the associate director of Hong Kong Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies with the Chinese University of Hong Kong, said the NPC Standing Committee’s decision accorded with the institute’s poll. “It shows the central authorities have taken into full account the Hong Kong people’s wishes for a universal suffrage time table,” Wong said, adding “the decision was accepted by the mainstream public opinions in Hong Kong.” “What the Hong Kong society has to do is to plan for details and seek consensus based on the decision,” he noted.
Prof. Albert Chen, Faculty of Law of the University of Hong Kong, said the decision by the NPC Standing Committee to make the arrangement for universal suffrage timetable has the authoritativeness and legal validity and it would greatly boost the democracy and constitutional development in Hong Kong. To achieve universal suffrage, Chen said, Hong Kong needs to finish the legal procedures and lay foundation for selecting Chief Executive through universal suffrage in 2017 by making appropriate amendments to election methods in 2012.
“Universal suffrage must be attained in a gradual and orderly progress, which is stipulated in the Basic Law,” Chen said.—Xinhua