People from different sectors of the Hong Kong society continued to voice their support here Sunday towards the decision by the Chinese National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee on Hong Kong's constitutional development.
While commenting on the decision about the constitutional development of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) adopted on Saturday by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, the mainstream opinion of the society held that the decision, which accorded with the aspirations of Hong Kong people, set a clear path for the HKSAR's constitutional development.
The decision is on issues relating to the methods for selecting the Chief Executive and for forming the Legislative Council of the HKSAR in 2012 and on issues relating to universal suffrage.
According to the NPC Standing Committee decision, appropriate amendments conforming to the principle of gradual and orderly progress may be made to the specific method for selecting the Chief Executive and that for forming the Legislative Council of the HKSAR in 2012.
At the same time, the decision made clear that the election of the Chief Executive may be implemented in 2017 through universal suffrage, and that after the Chief Executive is selected by universal suffrage, the election of the Legislative Council of the HKSAR may be implemented by the method of electing all the council members through universal suffrage.
Chan Wing Kee, Chairman of the Chinese Manufacturers' Association, said he himself fully supported the national legislature's decision on the HKSAR constitutional development because "it clarifies the prospect for constitutional development of Hong Kong and helps facilitate the democratic development and focus on economic development."
"The decision has given us a lot of time to make good preparations for selecting the Chief Executive by universal suffrage in 2017," Chan said.
Wong Kwok-kin, Chairman of the Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions, said the timetable of universal suffrage adopted by the top legislature has positively echoed the wishes of Hong Kong society and will help minimize the political disputes within the region.
Federation of Hong Kong Industries also released a statement to express their support for the NPC Standing Committee decision, saying it showed the central authorities had acknowledged the report submitted by the Chief Executive and set a clear timetable for selecting the Chief Executive through universal suffrage in 2017.
"All Federation of Hong Kong Industries members hold concerted stance that the constitutional development of the HKSAR should be put forward in a gradual and orderly process and achieve universal suffrage when the society reaches consensus and the conditions are ripe," said the statement.
Hong Kong United Youth Association (HKUYA) also said in a statement that the decision has charted a clearer prospect for the constitutional development of the HKSAR with a clear timetable for universal suffrage in Hong Kong.
"The decision by the NPC Standing Committee is conducive to helping the society narrow the discrepancies on the amendments to the methods for selecting the Chief Executive and for forming the Legislative Council in 2012," the HKUYA said.
Tsang Yuk-sing, a member of the Executive Council of the HKSAR, described the decision as "an important milestone" in the history of Hong Kong's constitutional development.
As the country's top legislature, the National People's Congress has its constitutional power to decide a timetable for the HKSAR, Tsang said, adding "I hope that different political parties and groups will bring out their utmost sincerity to work towards selecting Chief Executive through universal suffrage in 2017 and forming the Legislative Council through universal suffrage afterwards."