香港推出特首选举新方案

One person, one vote - to decide who will be Hong Kong's new Chief Executive. But the reform plan must first be endorsed by two-thirds of the members in the 70-seat Legislative Council.

When introducing the plan on Wednesday, Carrie Lam told council members that the threshold for potential candidates at the first stage of the selection process, referring to nomination from a 1200 member committee, has been lowered.

"We suggest that a person who can obtain recommendations from 120 Nominating Committee members could become a candidate seeking nomination for the Chief Executive election."

That is down from the current 150 needed, and would allow five to ten candidates to seek nomination.

Once nominated, the candidates, in the second stage, would need to get the backing of at least half of the Committee members.

And then, universal suffrage - voting. The election will have only one round. The candidate with the most votes will win, though that winner would still need final approval of the Central Government.

Recent opinion polls show the majority of the public favor universal suffrage in time for the next Chief Executive selection in 2017. But with opposition politicians holding a little more than one-third of the seats in Legco, enough to

reject the plan, Carrie Lam has issued a call urging the members to respect the popular will, as Hong Kong's political reform is at a critical juncture.

"I sincerely hope that lawmakers can abandon passive attitudes and work with the Hong Kong Government and the public to implement a fair, open, just and transparent system for selecting the Chief Executive by universal suffrage."

A dozen lawmakers have walked out of the Legislative Council in protest, vowing again to veto the proposal.

But more than 40 lawmakers have expressed their support to the plan. Tam Yiu-Chung is with Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong.

"We support the proposal because it is in line with the Basic Law, the Central Government's decision made last August, and the reality in Hong Kong. We believe if it is passed, it could reduce long-term political disputes, enabling us to

focus on fixing problems in different fields. It is conducive to Hong Kong's long term development as well as national interests."

Chief Executive CY Leung says it's a chance Hong Kong should not miss.

"I hope the public and lawmakers endorse the proposal, so as to implement universal suffrage."

In the next two months, the Government will reach out to as many people as possible to enhance their understanding of the reform package, as their views can influence lawmakers' decisions.

The Legislative Council is expected to vote on the political reform package in mid-June.

For CRI, this is Li Jing in Hong Kong.