Decision of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress on Issues Relating to the Methods for Selecting the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in2007 and for Forming the Legislative Council of the HKSAR in2008

(Adopted at the 9th Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Tenth National People's Congress on April 26, 2004)

At its 9th Meeting, the Standing Committee of the Tenth National People's Congress examined the Report on Whether There Is a Need to Amend the Methods for Selecting the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in 2007 and for Forming the Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in 2008, submitted by Tung Chee-hwa, the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, on April 15, 2004 and, before the meeting, had consulted deputies to the National People's Congress and members of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference from the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, people from different sectors of Hong Kong, Hong Kong members of the Committee for the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region under the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, and the Constitutional Development Task Force of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, and had, at the same time, sought the advice of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council. In the course of examination, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress paid full attention to the recent concerns of the Hong Kong community about the methods for selecting the Chief Executive and for forming the Legislative Council after the year 2007, including the views of some bodies and public figures that they wish to see the selection of the Chief Executive by universal suffrage in the year 2007 and the election of all the members of the Legislative Council by universal suffrage in the year 2008.

The participants hold that the provisions in Articles 45 and 68 of the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (hereinafter referred to as the Basic Law of Hong Kong, in short) already expressly stipulate that the methods for selecting the Chief Executive and for forming the Legislative Council shall be prescribed in the light of the actual situation in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and in accordance with the principle of gradual and orderly progress, and that the ultimate aims are the selection of the Chief Executive by universal suffrage upon nomination by a broadly representative nominating committee in accordance with democratic procedures and the election of all the members of the Legislative Council by universal suffrage. The methods for selecting the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and for forming the Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region shall conform to the principles and provisions of the Basic Law of Hong Kong mentioned above. Any change relating to the methods for selecting the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and for forming the Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region shall conform to the principles that it is compatible with the social, economic and political development of Hong Kong and that it is conducive to the balanced participation of all strata, sectors and groups of the society, to the effective operation of the executive-led system, and to the maintenance of long-term prosperity and stability of Hong Kong.

The participants hold that since the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Hong Kong residents have enjoyed democratic rights that they had never had before. The first Chief Executive was elected by the Selection Committee, which was composed of 400 members. The second Chief Executive was elected by the Election Committee, which was composed of 800 members. Out of the 60 members of the Legislative Council, the number of members returned by geographical constituencies through direct elections has increased from 20 in the Legislative Council in the first term to 24 in the Legislative Council in the second term and will reach 30 in the Legislative Council in the third term to be formed in September this year. Hong Kong does not have a long history of practising democratic elections, and it is not seven years yet since Hong Kong residents exercised the democratic right to participate in the selection of the Chief Executive of the Special Administrative Region. Since the return of Hong Kong to the motherland, the number of members of the Legislative Council returned by geographical constituencies through direct elections has increased by a fairly wide margin. When the setup is such that half of the members are returned by geographical constituencies through direct elections and the other half by functional constituencies, the impact on the operation of the Hong Kong society as a whole, especially the impact on the executive-led system, remains to be tested through practice. Moreover, at present, different sectors of the Hong Kong society have considerable differences on how to determine the methods for selecting the Chief Executive and for forming the Legislative Council after the year 2007 and have not come to a broad consensus. Such being the case, the conditions do not yet exist for the selection of the Chief Executive by universal suffrage upon nomination by a broadly representative nominating committee in accordance with democratic procedures, as provided for in Article 45 of the Basic Law of Hong Kong, or for the election of all the members of the Legislative Council by universal suffrage, as provided for in Article 68 of the Basic Law of Hong Kong.

In view of the above and pursuant to the relevant provisions of the Basic Law of Hong Kong and the Interpretation by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of Annex I (7) and Annex II (III) to the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress makes the following decision on the methods for selecting the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in the year 2007 and for forming the Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in the year 2008:

(1) The election of the third Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region to be held in the year 2007 shall not be conducted by means of universal suffrage. The election of the Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in the fourth term in the year 2008 shall not be conducted by means of an election of all the members by universal suffrage, the ratio between the members returned by functional constituencies and the members returned by geographical constituencies through direct elections, who shall respectively occupy half of the seats, is to remain unchanged, and the procedures for voting on bills and motions in the Legislative Council are to remain unchanged.

(2) On the premise that Decision (1) is not contravened, appropriate amendments that conform to the principle of gradual and orderly progress may be made to the specific method for selecting the third Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in the year 2007 and the specific method for forming the Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in the fourth term in the year 2008, in accordance with the provisions of Articles 45 and 68 of the Basic Law of Hong Kong and the provisions of Annex I (7) and Annex II (III) to the Basic Law of Hong Kong.

The participants hold that developing democracy in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in the light of the actual situation and in a gradual and orderly manner according to the provisions of the Basic Law of Hong Kong has been the unswerving, consistent position of the Central Authorities. Along with the development and progress in all aspects of the Hong Kong society and through the joint endeavors of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and Hong Kong residents, the democratic system of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region will certainly progress incessantly, and ultimately attain the aims of selecting the Chief Executive by universal suffrage upon nomination by a broadly representative nominating committee in accordance with democratic procedures and electing all the members of the Legislative Council by universal suffrage, as provided for in the Basic Law of Hong Kong.