She told the that the 300 people could be picked either randomly or as a focus group that reflects the city's demographics. The remaining 1,200 members could be elected with reference to the existing Election Committee, which nominated and elected the chief executive last year.

Commenting on other proposals such as Hoo's, Chan said: "It is true that directly elected district councillors have a popular mandate. But their main function is to represent about 20,000 residents, so adding them to the nominating committee could create a functional imbalance."

As an alternative, Chan proposed forming a nominating committee with 1,200 members with a broader elector base - such as allowing insurance brokers and property agents to pick their own nominating committee representative. The committee would then put forward three to four candidates for the public to choose from.

She opposed the pan-democrats' idea of letting the public directly nominate candidates, criticising it for deviating from the Basic Law.

But speaking separately, Hoo reiterated that allowing the public to put forth candidates would still be in line with the city's mini-constitution - provided a nominating panel got to further narrow the pool.

He also suggested that to improve governance, the administration should amend the law that requires the chief executive to not be affiliated with any political party. He believed the government's inefficiency was partly because the chief executive had neither a party background nor a vote in the Legislative Council.

"As soon as the law is changed … the legislature and the executive [branch] can have a constructive relationship," Hoo said. "It won't be like nowadays [when it is] only confrontational."