I am grateful to Anson Chan Fang On-sang for clearing the air in her letter ("Not opposed to nomination committee", May 29), which was a reply to my letter ("Nomination process not negotiable", May 20).
Before that, I was worried by the reference in her article ("The key step", May 8) to the first step to "genuine universal suffrage", as if following the Basic Law to have a nomination committee for the 2017 election of the chief executive is fake universal suffrage.
I was also worried by her reference to changes "to the composition of functional constituencies" as being essential in 2016 "to pave the way for establishment of the future nominating committee that will nominate candidates for election of the chief executive in 2017", as if obstacles were being placed for the formation of a nomination committee.
As to whether "screening of candidates, to ensure their acceptability to the central government, would be totally at odds with both the letter and the spirit of Article 45", I am afraid that is how many other pressure groups see the nomination of the candidates by the nomination committee.
Qiao Xiaoyang , chairman of the Law Committee of the National People's Congress, only said it was not the right way to talk about the nomination process.
In time I am sure it will be used rightly to screen out the "Hong Kong Chen Shui-bians", of which there are several lurking in the wings. Xiao did say the door of welcome is open to anyone who does not defy the central government, even if he belongs to anti-Beijing political parties.