File photo of Leung Chun-ying.
Hong Kong Chief Executive (CE) Leung Chun-ying said on Sunday that civil nomination and nomination by a nominating committee are two totally different concepts when it concerns the selection of Hong Kong's next CE by universal suffrage.
The so-called civil nomination "violates the Basic Law," Leung said in a statement responding to remarks of some individuals that civil nomination was proposed when the Basic Law was been drafting.
The Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China serves as the constitutional document of the region.
Leung reiterated in the statement that during the drafting process of the Basic Law, civil nomination was not mentioned in two of the five drafts that advocated the selection of the chief executive by universal suffrage when they were circulated in 1988 to solicit opinions from the general public.
Article 45 of the Basic Law, which was promulgated on April 4, 1990, stipulates "The method for selecting the chief executive shall be specified 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. The ultimate aim is the selection of the chief executive by universal suffrage upon nomination by a broadly representative nominating committee in accordance with democratic procedures."
So, the assertion that nomination of the chief executive candidates by the nominating committee could be understood as civil nomination "violates the Basic Law," Leung said.
If some members of the Legislative Council still insist on the so-called civil nomination, Leung said, "they are deliberately breaking the Basic Law," which will result in the deprival of the Hong Kong people of their rights to elect the chief executive by " one man, one vote" in 2017.
