Call for Xi Jinping to abide by Deng Xiaoping's blueprint for 'one country, two systems'

Basic Law drafter Martin Lee Chu-ming has called on President Xi Jinping to adhere to the "one country, two systems" blueprint mapped out by late patriarch Deng Xiaoping.

Lee cited Deng as saying the governing principle was good not just for Hong Kong but also for the whole country.

It was the "original intent" behind the city's mini-constitution, he told a media conference held by 23 pan-democrats yesterday to refute Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying's claim that the Basic Law authors never intended to give people the right to pick candidates for chief executive polls.

Lee dismissed Leung's remarks, made at the 25th anniversary ceremony of the promulgation of the Basic Law on April 4, as factually wrong.

He recalled an April 1987 meeting where the late leader told the drafting committee that Hong Kong's capitalist system would remain unchanged for 50 years after the handover.

"Deng even told us that if the mainland's development still could not catch up with Hong Kong's, the pledge could be extended to another 50 years so the city could continue to lead the way for the country," Lee said.