Airing divergent views is good first step to universal suffrage

Although the public consultation for universal suffrage is still months away, politicians, academics and interest groups are wasting no time in exploring the way ahead. It is good that momentum is gathering pace, with key stakeholders airing views on what should and should not be implemented.

As expected, Beijing and the pan-democrats are still poles apart over the key question of how the chief executive candidates should be nominated. This despite clear stipulations in the Basic Law that it should be the job of the future nominating committee, whose composition, according to the 2007 decision by the state legislature's standing committee, should mirror the existing sector-based Election Committee. The pan-democrats are understandably worried that it is de facto a process to screen them out and suggest that general voters should also be allowed to nominate their own candidates. However, this idea was flatly rejected by officials from the liaison office in Hong Kong, who said the proposal disregarded the framework laid down in the Basic Law.

That Beijing has swiftly shot down the so-called dual-track nominating method is hardly surprising. From its point of view, the nominating committee under Article 45 is the centrepiece of universal suffrage. It makes no sense to open nomination to general voters if the real intention is to vest the power in the committee before putting the candidates to one person, one vote. Debating proposals that do not stand a real chance of winning Beijing's blessing is arguably a waste of time. But the pan-democrats think otherwise. With the consultation yet to come, they said it was premature to shoot down the idea. Whether Beijing's response will shift the debate towards other options remains unclear. But some Beijing-friendly figures do not object to the concept in principle, as long as the function of the nominating committee is not compromised.

Despite the divide, it is good for different sides to make known their positions at an early stage. Democracy is a politically sensitive issue that requires careful deliberation. Given the long-standing antagonism between Beijing and the democrats, it is only natural that they do not see eye-to-eye on some electoral arrangements. For universal suffrage to be implemented as scheduled, it is imperative for stakeholders to iron out their differences in due course, keeping in mind the framework laid down by the Basic Law and the state legislature's standing committee.