Acting in accordance with the provisions of the Hong Kong Basic Law and the views of the members of the NPC Standing Committee on the Report by the Chief Executive, and having taken into full account the views of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council and the views of the Report by the Chief Executive, the Chairmen's Council has introduced the Draft Decision of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress on Issues Relating to the Selection of the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region by Universal Suffrage and on the Method for Forming the Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in the Year 2016 (Draft Decision). I will now provide Explanations on the Draft Decision as follows.

1. On the selection of the Chief Executive by universal suffrage starting from 2017

In accordance with the Hong Kong Basic Law, the relevant Decision of the NPC Standing Committee on 29 December 2007 and the views of the members of the NPC Standing Committee, Article I of the Draft Decision provides that: "Starting from 2017, the selection of the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region may be implemented by the method of universal suffrage." The major considerations with regard to this provision are:

First, the wording in the Draft Decision is "Starting from 2017, the selection of the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region may be implemented by the method of universal suffrage", meaning that the selection of the fifth Chief Executive in 2017 and all the Chief Executives thereafter may be implemented by the method of universal suffrage.

Second, Article 45 of the Hong Kong Basic Law provides that the ultimate aim is the selection of the Chief Executive by universal suffrage. The relevant Decision of the NPC Standing Committee on 29 December 2007 further provides that "the election of the fifth Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in the year 2017 may be implemented by the method of universal suffrage". Article I of the Draft Decision has made it clear that the selection of the Chief Executive in 2017 and of all the Chief Executives thereafter may be implemented by the method of universal suffrage, which accords with the Hong Kong Basic Law and the above-mentioned Decision of the NPC Standing Committee.

Third, as a result of years of discussion on the issue of universal suffrage for selecting the Chief Executive, the Hong Kong community has reached consensus on four points, i.e., the Hong Kong community generally hopes to see the implementation of universal suffrage for the selection of the Chief Executive in 2017; it generally agrees that the method of universal suffrage for the Chief Executive should be formulated in accordance with the Hong Kong Basic Law and the relevant Interpretation and Decisions of the NPC Standing Committee; it generally agrees that the successful implementation of universal suffrage for the selection of the Chief Executive will bring about positive impact on the sustained development and the long-term prosperity and stability of Hong Kong; and it generally agrees that Chief Executive candidates should be persons who love the country and love Hong Kong. The implementation of the election of the Chief Executive by the method of universal suffrage as of 2017 meets the common aspiration of the Hong Kong community.