Committee to decide HK election candidates: NPC decision

The National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee decided on Sunday to grant universal suffrage in selection of Hong Kong's chief executive on the basis of nomination by a "broadly representative" committee.

The decision on how the chief executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) will be selected was passed unanimously at the bi-monthly session of the NPC Standing Committee.

The document is entitled "Decision of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress on Issues Relating to the Selection of the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region by Universal Suffrage and on the Method for Forming the Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in the Year 2016."

The decision allows two or three candidates to run for the HKSAR's top job after obtaining support from at least half of a nominating committee that "shall be made in accordance with the number of members, composition and formation method of the Election Committee for the Fourth Chief Executive."

Li Fei, vice secretary-general of the NPC Standing Committee, said during a press conference on Sunday afternoon that the size of the nominating committee was set at 1,200.

The chief executive-elect, after being selected through universal suffrage, will have to be appointed by the central government, read the decision, which stressed that the chief executive has to be a person who "loves the country and loves Hong Kong."

Li said this is a basic requirement of the policy of "One Country, Two Systems." The method for selecting the chief executive by universal suffrage must provide corresponding institutional safeguards for this purpose.

Top Chinese legislator Zhang Dejiang also said on Sunday that the new decision was of great importance to implementing the principles of "one country, two systems," "Hong Kong people administering Hong Kong," and ensuring the region maintains a high degree of autonomy while following the Hong Kong Basic Law.

"The decision is vital for steadily developing democracy in Hong Kong and implementing the selection of the HKSAR chief executive by universal suffrage according to law," he said.

UNIVERSAL SUFFRAGE

The current chief executive was elected by a committee in 2012.

According to the NPC decision, all eligible electors of the region have the right to vote in the election of the chief executive and elect one of the candidates for the office, according to the decision.