2017 electoral system must be put to the test before changing it, Beijing official tells HK barristers
Beijing official tells barristers changes could only be made after 2017 poll
The proposed system for the 2017 chief executive election must be put into practice before a decision is made on whether it should be amended in future, a Beijing official told Hong Kong lawyers.
Li Fei, chairman of the Basic Law Committee, also told the Bar Association delegation the door for communication with pan-democrats would be open as long as they recognised Hong Kong and China as "one country".
Li yesterday received an 18-member Bar delegation, who were paying a biennial, three-day visit to the capital this week to meet with national legal and political authorities.
The meeting with Li and his deputy Zhang Rongshun focused on the city's political reform, said association chairwoman Winnie Tam Wan-chi SC.
"We had a thorough discussion on the issue that Hong Kong citizens care about," Tam said.
It is understood that the lawyers asked Li whether the stringent reform framework handed down by Beijing in August last year was final.
Li said the August decision had legal force and any law could be improved in future as long as it complied with the Basic Law, Tam said. "He also said the election method had to be implemented for some time. Only when it is experienced and observed can there be a [decision] whether it needs amending."