The year 2007 will be too early for the Chief Executive to be allowed political affiliation, the Liberal Party chairman says.
'No political party could win half the seats in the Legislative Council at that time,' said James Tien Pei-chun. It would therefore be difficult for the Chief Executive to manage the situation because he would not have majority backing, he said.
The question of whether civil servants had political affiliation would also complicate the situation.
The chairman of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong, Tsang Yok-sing, had claimed the party might field candidates to contest the Chief Executive post in 2007.
Mr Tien, who represents the General Chamber of Commerce in Legco, said the Liberal Party had stated in its manifesto drafted in 1993 that it welcomed universal suffrage for Legco and the Chief Executive's post. But he thought it better to start consultations on the pace of democratisation in 2004 rather than this year.
'Then we could make our decision in 2006,' he said.