Members of Hong Kong's law practitioners have expressed their support of the decision by the Chinese National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee on Hong Kong's constitutional development.

The NPC Standing Committee adopted a decision Monday under which the method of universal suffrage shall not be applied to the election of the chief executive of the HKSAR in 2007, nor to the election of all members of the Legislative Council in 2008.

Chen Hung Yee, a law professor with the Hong Kong University, said that the right to interpret the Basic Law rests with the NPC Standing Committee, which explains the contents of the interpretation are equally lawful as the provisions of the Basic Law itself.

He noted that the decision on Hong Kong's constitutional development is the judgment by the highest organ of state authority with deliberation of Hong Kong's actual conditions, which should gain the respect and support of the Hong Kong society.

He pointed out that the current problems Hong Kong is plagued with can not simply be resolved by universal suffrage. Rather, Hong Kong would not withstand the outcome of political experiment.

Liao Cheung Sing, a member of the Executive Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR), said the issue of constitutional development touched upon the relationship between the central authority and the Hong Kong SAR, and the modification of the two election methods should be reported to the NPC Standing Committee for approval or for the record.

According to Liao, the decision made by the NPC Standing Committee set the direction for the constitutional development of Hong Kong, in an effort to eliminate factors that could affect Hong Kong's stability and economic recovery.

Daniel Fung, a senior counsel in Hong Kong, said that the NPC's decision is a responsible and rational one, and is for the benefits of Hong Kong, which dictates that Hong Kong's democratic advancement should observe certain principles.

He noted that the Hong Kong community should stop endless contestation on issues relating to constitutional development, and commence to search for concrete methods in this regard under the guidelines of the decision