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The following is the transcript of remarks (English portion) by the Chief Executive, Mr Donald Tsang, at a Q&A session at the Natural History Museum in London today (November 4, London time):
Question: I was wondering – a number of people in the pro-democracy camp feel that you perhaps have been less than fully honest with the people who have asked you about your democracy package, and people’s desire for democracy in Hong Kong, and they feel that perhaps you have been using this trip to create political pressure in some ways against them.
Chief Executive: Everything I have said is in the open. Everything I do has been totally transparent. We have been working on that, within the parameters of a decision of our NPC Standing Committee in April last year. Hong Kong people know what is happening and it is impossible to deceive them.
The proposition that we have put forward, the proposal that we have put forward is the product of an extensive consultation here in Hong Kong, given the constraints that we know about the NPC Standing Committee. The proposal that we now put forward is genuinely supported by the majority of Hong Kong people, to whom we have approached in repeated polls. There is absolutely no deception at all. Of course, there is a general urge for universal suffrage and I understand that and I share their feelings. However, the proposition before us is that, given the circumstances that we are in, this is the best option available.
Furthermore, the residual questions that we need to address, including the timetable, can only be addressed after we have resolved a number of other issues – for instance, what kind of structure of legislature do we want? What is the roadmap leading to it? After these things have been resolved, we will be able automatically to deal with the question of the timetable. I am quite prepared to engage the public and experts in discussing these issues in the Commission on Strategic Development, in a particular panel, which I personally would chair.
So there is no shirking and no deception. It is a question of a frank exchange with Hong Kong people. What I am proposing to put on the table and put through the legislature for a decision in December is the product of extensive consultation – a proposal that is supported by the majority of Hong Kong people at the moment.
(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript)
Ends/Saturday, November 5, 2005
Issued at HKT 11:18
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