Hong Kong people should think more from the angle of national interest in the current discussion on patriotism so as to understand why the central government is worried about the SAR's political reform process.

"There is no big contradiction between patriotism and universal suffrage," said Ma Lik, a deputy of the National People's Congress, Thursday.

But the central government is worried that people lacking national awareness will be elected through universal suffrage, said Ma, also chairman of the Democratic Alliance for Betterment of Hong Kong.

He made his remark at a seminar on national awareness and universal suffrage, organized by the Hong Kong Development Forum.

Fellow speaker Lau Nai-keung, a delegate to the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, noted that the central government had never said it would not allow constitutional development in Hong Kong. Now it has raised several issues of principles because it wants to reach common ground with Hong Kong people on them.

"Other problems will be easy to handle once the issues of principles are settled. It is not a big deal if the pace is faster or slower. I just think the call for universal suffrage in 2007 and 2008 is ridiculous," he said.

As to the principle of "patriots as the main body governing Hong Kong", Lau said it is "a solid requirement".

He pointed out that some people in positions of power have breached their pledge of allegiance to the SAR when they were sworn in as they have sought an end to one-party rule and opposed Article 23 legislation.

But Democratic Party Vice-Chairman Albert Ho asked the central government to give Hong Kong a free hand in its political reform, given its maturity in terms of political, economic and social conditions.

Joseph Chan, head of the department of politics and public administration of the University of Hong Kong, said the central government is concerned about the consequences of democratization.

"I believe a majority of Hong Kong people want harmonious constitutional development. We also need some 'middlemen' who can reflect the view of the central government as well as help it to understand the voices of Hong Kong people," he told the seminar.

(China Daily February 27, 2004)