Britain expects H.K. universal suffrage roadmap to be released

HONG KONG, Feb. 28 Kyodo

The British government expects a road map for implementing universal suffrage in Hong Kong to be released by the local government within months, according to a British report released Wednesday.

British Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett said in the Six-Monthly Report to Parliament on Hong Kong, which has been published since the former British colony was returned to Chinese rule in 1997, that the British government hopes a road map for full democracy in Hong Kong would be finalized.

''The Hong Kong government's Commission on Strategic Development...is due to report in the first half of 2007,'' Beckett said in the report. ''We await with great interest the commission's recommendations which we hope will...identify a clear roadmap that will allow Hong Kong to achieve universal suffrage as soon as possible in line with the Basic Law and the wishes of the people.''

The Basic Law, the mini-constitution in effect since the handover, stipulates that universal suffrage is the ultimate goal but without setting a date.

Despite public outcries in the past, Beijing has ruled out the possibility of implementing universal suffrage in elections for the chief executive next month and of all legislators next year.

The pro-democracy camp in Hong Kong has agreed to pursue full democracy in 2012, when elections for the chief executive and legislators will be held simultaneously. The government remains tight-lipped on the issue, pending the commission's report.

''We remain convinced that the best way to safeguard Hong Kong's long-term stability and prosperity is for it to advance to a system of universal suffrage as soon as possible,'' Beckett said.

The report continued to praise Hong Kong's strong economic performance and growing recognition of environmental protection.

It also mentioned the case of Ching Cheong, a local journalist who was convicted of spying for Taiwan and imprisoned for five years, appealing for Chinese authorities' protection of the rights of all citizens while safeguarding national security.

Ching was transferred from Beijing earlier this year to serve his sentence in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong, to make it easier for his Hong Kong relatives to visit him.

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