The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government has expressed deep regret that some participants of a public meeting today called on foreign governments to intervene in Hong Kong's affairs and to impose sanctions.

In a statement, the Hong Kong SAR Government said foreign governments, legislatures or organisations have absolutely no role in matters relating to Hong Kong's constitutional development and should not express any opinion or attempt to influence or interfere in the discussions of related matters in Hong Kong.

"Universal suffrage of 'one person, one vote' for selecting the Chief Executive and electing all Legislative Council members is enshrined as an ultimate aim in the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China.

“The HKSAR Government has all along been taking forward constitutional development in accordance with the Basic Law and the relevant Interpretation and Decisions of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPCSC)," the statement said.

Article 45 of the Basic Law stipulates that the method for selecting the Chief Executive shall be specified in the light of the actual situation in the HKSAR 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.

Regarding the election of LegCo members, Article 68 of the Basic Law stipulates that the method for forming the council shall be specified in the light of the actual situation in the HKSAR and in accordance with the principle of gradual and orderly progress with the election of all the Legislative Councillors by universal suffrage as the ultimate objective.

On the sequence of implementing universal suffrage for the selection of the Chief Executive and that of all members of LegCo, the statement noted that according to the relevant decisions of the NPCSC, after the Chief Executive is selected by universal suffrage, the election of LegCo may be implemented by the method of electing all the members by universal suffrage.

It also said that according to the Basic Law and the NPCSC’s relevant interpretation and decisions, the successful implementation of universal suffrage for selecting the Chief Executive requires the endorsement of a two-thirds majority of all the members of LegCo, the consent of the Chief Executive and the approval of the NPCSC.

Since the return to the Motherland, the HKSAR has made three attempts to take forward constitutional reform with one of the attempts made in 2012 when the HKSAR Government introduced the relevant bills to amend the methods for selecting the Chief Executive and for forming LegCo.

Those bills were successfully passed by a two-thirds majority of all LegCo members. The membership of the Election Committee was correspondingly increased from 800 to 1,200, while that of LegCo was increased from 60 to 70.

Of the 10 newly-added LegCo seats, five are returned by geographical constituencies through direct elections, while the remaining five District Council (Second) Functional Constituency seats are returned through “one-person-one-vote” by the registered electors who have not registered as an elector in any traditional functional constituencies.

“This is a milestone in the development of democracy in Hong Kong. For the 2020 Legislative Council General Election, the five seats in the District Council (Second) Functional Constituency are expected to be returned by around four million registered voters," the statement added.

The other two constitutional reform proposals put forward in 2005 and 2015 were vetoed for failing to obtain support from a two-thirds majority of all LegCo members.

In 2015, the HKSAR Government spent 20 months to tackle the issue, having conducted two rounds of extensive public consultations that spanned seven months with a universal suffrage package for selecting the Chief Executive which is constitutionally in order, lawful, reasonable and rational.

“Nonetheless, it was regrettably vetoed as it failed to obtain support from a two-thirds majority of all members of LegCo."

Noting that it understands the community's aspiration for universal suffrage, the HKSAR Government said that to achieve this aim, the community has to realise that apart from being accountable to the HKSAR, the Chief Executive selected by universal suffrage is appointed by and shall also be accountable to the Central People's Government.

“This is the constitutional order under the 'one country, two systems' principle which should not be ignored. The community needs to attain a consensus on these principles, and premised on the legal basis, to narrow differences through dialogues under a peaceful atmosphere with mutual trust.

“Any constructive discussion on the issue of constitutional development would be difficult to commence if the aforesaid cannot be achieved."

The HKSAR Government said it will act prudently, assess the situation carefully and do its best in creating a favourable social atmosphere to take forward political reform and carry out constitutional development in accordance with the Basic Law and the relevant interpretation and decisions of the NPCSC.