No consultation on political reform until conditions met, Beijing official says
Consultation should not begin until conditions met, says Beijing official
Consultation on electoral reform should not begin until most Hongkongers agree that those who confront the central government should not rule the city, a top Beijing official has said.
The remark by Qiao Xiaoyang, chairman of the Law Committee under the National People's Congress, came amid criticism by pan-democrats of the city's government for delaying public consultation on the 2017 chief executive election.
A full transcript of a speech Qiao made on Sunday was uploaded to the website of the central government's Hong Kong liaison office yesterday.
Qiao listed two key prerequisites for electing the chief executive by universal suffrage.
"A prerequisite is that it has to be in line with the Basic Law and the relevant decision of the NPC Standing Committee," he said. "Another prerequisite is that those confronting the central government are not allowed to become the chief executive.
A prerequisite is that it has to be in line with the Basic Law and the relevant decision of the NPC Standing Committee. Another prerequisite is that those confronting the central government are not allowed to become the chief executive
"If these two prerequisites are not met and fail to gain recognition from a majority of people in Hong Kong society, it will be inappropriate to launch the political reform consultation. Even if the consultation went ahead, it would not yield a good result.