Secretary for Constitutional Affairs Stephen Lam says the Central Government's basic policies regarding Hong Kong have been implemented through the Basic Law and will not be changed.

He told lawmakers today that the remarks recently made by National People's Congress Standing Committee Chairman Wu Bangguo reflect the principles and provisions in the Basic Law. Views that the chairman's remarks will undermine Hong Kong's high degree of autonomy are totally ungrounded, he added.

Green paper

Mr Lam said the Government will publish a green paper on constitutional development on the basis of the discussions of the Commission on Strategic Development and the community in the past 20 months. The document will present three options in implementing universal suffrage for electing the Chief Executive and for forming the Legislative Council.

Aside from those which are inconsistent with the Basic Law, the Government has not ruled out any options at this stage. Mr Lam said any options for implementing universal suffrage should be consistent with the Basic Law and should not require any amendments to the main provisions of it.

Assessment criteria

Mr Lam said all proposals forwarded by different political parties, organisations and people to the commission will be covered by the green paper.

On how the Government assesses the level of public support for different options after the green paper has been published, Mr Lam said it may consider whether an option can obtain support from more than 60% of the public by making reference to opinion polls conducted by academic institutions and local organisations, and whether an option can secure support from two-thirds of LegCo members.