Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen has rejected pan-democrats' request to meet and discuss their universal suffrage proposal, three days after vowing to lead a consensus-building government following his election success.
The democrats have questioned Mr Tsang's sincerity in listening to public aspirations for a faster move towards full democracy.
In a letter to 21 pan-democrat legislators who requested the meeting after submitting a reform proposal, Mr Tsang's private secretary, Jessie Ting Yip Yin-mei, said such talks should be held by the Commission for Strategic Development.
She said since Mr Tsang would chair the commission's meeting on April 12, when Democrat Lee Wing-tat and unionist Lee Cheuk-yan would attend as members, there could be 'ample discussion'.
Lee Cheuk-yan was outraged at the response, saying there was no reason for the chief executive to snub the 21 pan-democrats.
'What he did was very ugly. We are only asking for a meeting to exchange views. Why can we only communicate with him through the commission? I cannot believe he wants to be selective when listening to views.'
Lee Wing-tat said Mr Tsang had broken his election pledge to build an inclusive government that would listen to the public.
