Hong Kong's constitutional reform must be consistent with the relevant provisions as stipulated in the Basic Law and rules made by the National People's Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC) in April.

Chief Secretary Donald Tsang, who heads the three-member taskforce on constitutional reform, said this Wednesday while unveiling its latest report on the issue.

He admitted that the Hong Kong community remains divided on electoral arrangements for selecting the chief executive in 2007 and forming the legislature in 2008.

The government will be dedicated to bridging the existing divide so as to pursue a mainstream political reform proposal that is widely acceptable in the society with the broadest consensus, he said. The government plans to list the mainstream reform by the middle of next year. If it wins support of the majority of citizens and lawmakers, the government will then invoke the necessary legal procedures to amend the Annexes I and II of the Basic Law in the latter half of 2005 and make local legislation in 2006.

Wrapping up a five-month public consultation which ended in October, the taskforce has listed its fourth report major proposals over the possible electoral changes. The government has received more than 400 submissions.

Major proposals include:

- Enlarge the 800-strong Election Committee to 1,200 or 1,600 members to allow wider participation by different strata of the community.

- Adjust the composition of the existing 38 subsectors of the Election Committee.

- Require the chief executive candidates to obtain a certain degree of support in each sector of the Election Committee to ensure that they have broad cross-sectoral support.

At present, the Election Committee is composed of four sectors: commercial and financial; the professions; labour, social services and religious; LegCo members, district councillors and Hong Kong deputies to the NPC. Each sector comprises 200 members.

- Widen the electoral base, which is now 163,500 voters, that chooses the Election Committee members.

- Examine whether to abolish the existing requirement that the chief executive must relinquish his political affiliation.

Major proposals put forward for the electoral method of forming the Legislative Council include:

- Increase the number of 30 seats returned by geographical constituencies to 35 or 40.

- Increase the number of 30 seats returned by functional constituencies to 35 or 40, such as adding constituencies of Chinese medicine, logistics, small and medium-sized enterprises.

- Replace corporate voting by individual voting.

- Examine whether functional constituencies should be retained or abolished in the long term.

Announcing the taskforce's fourth report at LegCo Wednesday afternoon, Tsang said, "From the consultation process, citizens generally expressed that they have a high expectation to have more channels to take part in the election of the chief executive and the LegCo members."

By conducting a series of open forums and consultation exercises in the coming several months, Tsang said the government will gather citizens' voices and narrow down their opinions to draft the mainstream proposals. A poll will be conducted to survey citizens' opinions on constitutional reform.

At the same time, the government will communicate with the central government and seek consensus before making the mainstream reform.

Tsang stressed the reform will have tripartite agreement. It will need to be endorsed by a two-thirds majority in LegCo and must have the consent of the chief executive, and be reported to the National People's Congress Standing Committee for approval or record.

Meanwhile, Tsang said it is inappropriate to set out an exact timetable for introducing universal suffrage for electing the chief executive at this moment as the community is so divided over the issue.

On April 26, the NPCSC ruled that SAR constitutional reform needed to proceed gradually and orderly.

Mixed reaction to 4th report of Tsang

Major political parties in the Legislative Council responded in different ways to the Fourth Report of the Constitutional Development Task Force.

The Democratic Alliance for Betterment of Hong Kong (DAB) and Liberal Party expressed their support, but the Democratic Party and Article 45 Concern Group said they were disappointed.

DAB Chairman Ma Lik hoped the public would seriously consider the future direction of constitutional development before giving their views.

"Although (different people) have different aspirations, we must sort out our differences and come to a consensus for the future development and stability of Hong Kong.

"I hope we will be able to come up with an option that is accepted by the public, two-thirds of the LegCo and the Central Government."

Liberal Party Chairman James Tien said that he supported the fourth report and that people could further express their views on the basis of the report.

Although universal suffrage was ruled out by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, he called for concerted efforts to work out a good package for 2007 and 2008.

If electoral arrangements for 2007 and 2008 are not well-prepared, it may affect the likelihood of universal suffrage in 2012, he said.

But Democratic Party Chairman Lee Wing-tat said he was dissatisfied with the report because it did not address the issue of universal suffrage for 2007 and 2008.

"The so-called consultation is a 'bird cage' type of consultation that excludes the option supported by most people in Hong Kong," he said.

"We doubt if the chief secretary for administration can put forward a 'mainstream package' in the middle of next year."

Article 45 Concern Group's Margaret Ng criticized the report as "empty".

Issues such as expanding the Election Committee can be dealt with through local legislation and there is no need to amend annexes I and II of the Basic Law, she said.

The Democratic Party and Article 45 Concern Group have planned a march, on January 1, to demand universal suffrage in 2007 and 2008.

(China Daily HK Edition December 16, 2004)