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The CECC has prepared the following HTML version of its 2006 Annual Report for the readers' convenience. If you would like to view the official Government Printing Office text of the Annual Report, please refer to the Adobe Acrobat PDF or Plain Text Format versions.

The United States supports a stable, autonomous Hong Kong under the "one country, two systems" formula articulated in the Sino-U.K. Joint Declaration and the Basic Law.¹ The people of Hong Kong enjoy the benefits of an independent judiciary² and an open society in which the freedoms of religion, speech, and assembly are respected. The Commission notes, however, that during the past year no steps were taken that would move Hong Kong closer to the "ultimate aim" of universal suffrage as specified in the Basic Law. The Commission strongly supports the provisions of the Basic Law that provide for the election of the chief executive and the entire Legislative Council through universal suffrage, and highlights the importance of the central government's obligation to give Hong Kong the "high degree of autonomy" promised in the Basic Law.

Constitutional Reform and Steps to Universal Suffrage

The National People's Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC) issued a decision in April 2004 prohibiting the people of Hong Kong from electing both the chief executive in 2007 and the members of the Legislative Council (LegCo) in 2008 through universal suffrage.³ Universal suffrage is described in Articles 45 and 68 of the Basic Law as the "ultimate aim."⁴ Currently, the chief executive is selected by the 800-member Election Committee chosen from Hong Kong's 28 functional constituencies, and only half of the 60 legislators in the LegCo are chosen by direct election. In July 2004, hundreds of thousands of Hong Kong citizens staged a demonstration to demand greater democracy, conveying the clear message that most people in Hong Kong want universal suffrage.⁵

The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region's (HKSAR) Constitutional Development Task Force issued its fifth report on October 19, 2005, which proposed modest measures to expand citizen participation in selecting the chief executive in 2007 and forming the LegCo in 2008. The report called for adding 10 new seats to the 60-member LegCo, although the public would directly elect only 5 of the new members. District Councilors elected by the current group of 529 elected and appointed Councilors would fill the other five new seats.⁶ The report also called for doubling the size of the Election Committee (EC) that chooses Hong Kong's chief executive from 800 to 1,600 members, and increasing the number of EC members that are professionals in industry, commerce, finance, labor, and social services from 600 to 900.⁷ EC members from these functional constituencies are elected by Hong Kong citizens from their respective professional and industrial sectors. In addition, the report proposed increasing the number of EC members from the LegCo, District Councils, Heung Yee Kuk (a statutory advisory body representing the New Territories), Hong Kong deputies to the National People's Congress, and Hong Kong members of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference from 200 to 700.⁸ These members either serve in an ex officio capacity, or are selected by members of their constituency.

Hong Kong government leaders pointed to the challenge of meeting citizen demands for universal suffrage, while facing the constraints on policymaking imposed by the April 2004 NPCSC decision. Chief Executive Donald Tsang described the proposals as "a significant step forward in our democratic development," according to the transcript of a press conference posted on the Hong Kong government Web site following the release of the fifth report.⁹ Tsang also said that the HKSAR government formulated a package that embodied "democracy and openness to the highest extent possible," but was still consistent with the Basic Law and the decision of the NPCSC.¹⁰ Rafael Hui, Chief Secretary for Administration, who led the Constitutional Development Task Force, explained that "although constitutional development in 2007-2008 will not take us immediately to the ultimate goal of universal suffrage, it is a substantive and significant step toward that goal."¹¹

A vigorous public debate on the merits of the Task Force proposals, and their lack of a timetable for universal suffrage, culminated in a December 2005 march by tens of thousands to protest the slow pace of democratization.¹² According to polls at the time, public support for the proposals had fallen to just above 45 percent, down from an initial approval rating of nearly 60 percent following the proposals' release in October.¹³ Polling also showed that 60 percent of respondents were in favor of introducing a timetable for universal suffrage.¹⁴ Twenty-four LegCo members voted against the Task Force report on December 21, 2005, blocking its passage.¹⁵ A last-minute package of adjustments offered by the government did not meet the lawmakers' demand for a specific timetable to realize universal suffrage.¹⁶

Compliance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights

A March 2006 report by the UN Human Rights Committee, which is responsible for reviewing compliance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), expressed concern about the absence of universal suffrage in Hong Kong, as well as with the implementation of the procedure for interpretation of the Basic Law, a reference, in part, to the April 2004 NPCSC decision to prohibit universal suffrage in the 2007 chief executive and 2008 Legislative Council elections.¹⁷ The report questioned the HKSAR government's compliance with Article 25 of the ICCPR in both situations. Article 25 states that every citizen should have the right and the opportunity, without unreasonable restrictions, to participate in public affairs, either by himself or through a directly elected representative, and to express his political will through universal suffrage.¹⁸ The report concluded that, "All necessary measures should be taken whereby the Legislative Council is elected by universal and equal suffrage. It should be ensured that all interpretations of the Basic Law, including on electoral and public affairs issues, are in compliance with the Covenant."¹⁹