Hong Kong election reform plan avoids social confrontations: scholar

A Chinese scholar of Hong Kong studies on Monday said that the plan for Hong Kong's electoral reform is the most democratic design in the region's history and is fair and just.

Moreover, having the candidates for the chief executive election picked up by a "broadly representative" nominating committee will help to avoid possible social confrontation caused by rivalry among political parties, said an article by Rao Geping, deputy head of the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macao Studies.

Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) last month unveiled a plan for the 2017 election of the SAR's next leader by universal suffrage.

Candidates for the election will be picked by a 1,200-member nominating committee from four social sectors consisting of 38 sub-sectors.

Hong Kong has an opportunity to elect its chief executive by universal suffrage for the first time, a new page for the democratic development of the region, the article said.

Noting that the nominating committee is a major feature of the election reform package, Rao said the committee is the most democratic and secure design to both guarantee Hong Kong citizens' political right and ensure that the region's chief executive will be one who loves the country and loves Hong Kong.

Rao said that nominations by the committee, which consists of representatives from a wide spectrum of Hong Kong society, will be more balanced and popular than those endorsed by one or several political parties or factions.

This will help to avoid possible social confrontations, prevent an election result that undermines the constitutional system or lead to populism, the expert said.

Rao also stressed that as an SAR in China, Hong Kong's political system must be mandated by the country's top legislature, noting that the plan revealed by the Hong Kong government conforms to the Basic Law and the decision of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress.

The current plan will ensure the applicants fair access and full opportunity to explain their political ideas to the nomination committee and the public and the process will be conducted in an unbiased and open manner, the article said.

The article further stated that the plan and the design of the nomination committee suit the realist situation of Hong Kong without any unreasonable restrictions to people's election rights.

"It is an open, fair and just system, and is also the most democratic system for election in Hong Kong so far in its history," it said.