Room for more progressive poll rules for 2017, say pro-Beijing pair

Two pro-Beijing experts on the Basic Law say there is room to make the method for electing the chief executive in 2017 more "progressive".

This comes days after Wang Guangya, a top Beijing official in charge of Hong Kong affairs, dismissed the pan-democrats' idea to allow the public to nominate candidates.

One of the two, a mainland expert speaking on condition of anonymity, said that while the electoral method must stick to the Basic Law, corporate voting in the nominating committee could perhaps be replaced with individual voting and the committee's make-up reviewed.

Basic Law Committee member Maria Tam Wai-chu addressed the issue in a radio interview. She said the people and the business sector could perhaps recommend candidates, rather than nominating hopefuls.

But their remarks drew a lukewarm reaction from pan-democrats and analysts. Democratic Party vice-chairman Richard Tsoi Yiu-cheong declined to say if his camp could negotiate on public recommendation as an alternative.

Veteran China watcher Johnny Lau Yui-siu said the remarks showed that while the central government opposed public nomination, they were worried that killing the idea could embarrass the Hong Kong government, which has just launched a five-month process to gather public opinion on political reform.

The city's governance was also on the mind of the Beijing expert. He warned the local administration's authority would be undermined if the electoral system "marches on the spot in 2017". This might also lead to another wave of emigration.