The government will start consulting the public in early 2004 on the political development of the SAR after 2007.

"To give you a clear message, I expect to start the public consultation work in early 2004 to hear people's views on political reform after 2007," said Secretary for Constitutional Affairs Stephen Lam yesterday.

To accompany the public consultation, a consultation paper will most likely be published at the same time.

The consultation paper is expected to cover several critical issues such as whether the question of universal suffrage in the election of the third-term chief executive will be incorporated in the review.

Public attention has been focused on the government's interpretation of annex I of the Basic Law.

The annex, which stipulates the method for the selection of the chief executive, lays out conditions for the change of the method for "terms subsequent to the year 2007". But whether such an expression includes "the year 2007" has drawn controversy.

Lam was asked yesterday, at a Legislative Council panel meeting, about the government's interpretation of "subsequent to the year 2007", or in plain words, can the chief executive be elected through universal suffrage in 2007.

"I do not have a final conclusion today. But there is some progress with our studies and I believe this will not be a big problem," he said.

"I will need to study the matter further because there are still problems at the legal or technical level."

Lam reiterated that the government would make the best use of the time from now to 2006-07 to consult the public on the issue.

(Xinhua News Agency October 20, 2003)