Hong Kong's Legislative Council Wednesday voted down a motion of electing the chief executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) through universal suffrage in 2012.

Stephen S.L. Lam, secretary for constitutional affairs of the HKSAR, said the motion is putting the cart before the horse and that it may turn into an empty talk to work out a timetable hurriedly before deciding on a specific model and a road-map for universal suffrage.

Lam said during the Legislative meeting Wednesday that electing the chief executive of the special administrative region through universal suffrage is the ultimate goal stipulated by the Basic Law and that it must and will inevitably be realized.

However, he added, the way to reach the goal should start with reaching a consensus on the model of universal suffrage. After the consensus is achieved, a road-map will be worked out before the time-table for universal suffrage comes into being naturally, he said.

Lam said the Commission on Strategic Development, a consulting institution under the government, has been pressing ahead with the discussion on universal suffrage since its establishment in November last year. "Tomorrow the Commission will hold the 7th workshop to discuss the model of universal suffrage for the chief executive and the members of the Legislative Council," lam added.

He said the commission has begun essential discussion over the feasible model of the universal suffrage for the chief executive and the Legislative Council.

On the universal suffrage for the chief executive, he said the discussion is centering on the composition and the number of members of the Nomination Committee, the way of candidate nomination and the way of organizing the universal suffrage after the nomination.

Lam noted that the gap between different opinions is being narrowed with the progress of discussion of the commission.

Source: Xinhua