Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Raymond Tam said on Thursday the SAR government might consider asking the National People's Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC) to further optimize the nomination process for Chief Executive candidates in the 2022 election by universal suffrage. But Tam said the government would only do this if the Legislative Council passed the government's electoral reforms this year. Tam added that he did not believe the country's top legislature would take any decision lightly.

The opposition camp, as expected, has categorically refused to reconsider its decision to block the government's constitutional reform plans. This evidently shows their stubbornness in insisting on unconstitutional demands and ignoring the rights of Hong Kong's 5 million eligible voters.

People need to understand that Tam's comments in no way constitute any change in the government's stance on constitutional reform in Hong Kong. The reason for this is simple: The NPCSC is the highest legislative body of the country. All its decisions must serve the best interests of the nation. The NPCSC would never take any decision lightly.

Hong Kong is no exception when it comes to contributing to the nation's sovereignty, security and development. The decision by the NPCSC, announced on Aug 31 last year (the "8/31 framework decision"), has unshakable constitutional authority.

It is also pointless for the opposition camp to argue against the "8/31 framework decision". What they have advocated so far is based on misunderstandings and misinterpretations of the Basic Law and "One Country, Two Systems" policy. There is no way they can convince the NPCSC to change its mind as long as they refuse to respect its constitutional authority. This is their real reason for clinging to misinterpretations of the Basic Law and "One Country, Two Systems" policy.

If "pan-democrat" parties truly respected the wishes of the people, they would acknowledge the public opinion polls conducted by unbiased research institutions. They would then realize why the majority of Hong Kong citizens oppose "Occupy Central". This illegal movement trampled on people's basic rights and freedoms under the pretext of "civil disobedience". Instead of trying to bully the public into supporting their unconstitutional demands, they should let Hong Kong achieve universal suffrage in the 2017 CE election according to the Basic Law and relevant decisions of the NPCSC.

(HK Edition 01/30/2015 page7)