Deputy Secretary-General of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee Qiao Xiaoyang, together with two other officials, yesterday met with personnel from the Hong Kong legal circle to discuss the tenure of the new chief executive (CE) through by-election.

The two other officials present were Li Fei, deputy director of the Legislative Affairs Commission of the NPC Standing Committee, and Zhang Xiaoming, deputy director of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council.

Qiao and the two others explained in detail to the Hong Kong law experts the original meanings of the related articles of the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR).

The officials stressed that under the current system, the tenure of the by-elected chief executive could only be the remaining tenure of the former HKSAR chief executive, instead of a whole new five-year tenure.

(China Daily April 13, 2005)