Hong Kong political reform blueprint will address future changes after 2017 poll, says Rimsky Yuen
Reform package will spell out whether poll arrangements can be altered after 2017
Government officials are looking for ways to reassure the public that arrangements for the 2017 chief executive election can be improved for future polls if the reform package is approved.
The question of future changes would be one of three areas addressed in the final blueprint for reform next month, Secretary for Justice Rimsky Yuen Kwok-keung said yesterday.
Pan-democrats have vowed to vote down the reform if it sticks to strict rules on nominations set down last year by Beijing. But some moderate pan-democrats have sought guarantees from Beijing that the model for 2017 would be subject to change.
The government needs four pan-democrats to change their minds to push the package - under which the public would elect its leader for the first time - through the legislature.
"We understand that people are worried that if we implement universal suffrage in 2017, this will be final and cannot be changed," Yuen said yesterday.
"We have clarified this issue before. But we are considering how we can boost people's confidence [on further reform]."