A Hong Kong Constitutional Affairs Bureau spokesman reiterated Tuesday "we hope that foreign governments and legislatures will continue to respect the principle that Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR)'s electoral arrangements should be made in accordance with the Basic Law."

He made the remarks in response to media inquiries on the US Report "Supporting Human Rights and Democracy: The US Record 2004-2005" released on March 28 (local time).

He said the HKSAR government is committed to further opening up the methods for selecting the Chief Executive (CE) in 2007 and forming the Legislative Council (LegCo) in 2008.

"The Constitutional Development Task Force, led by the Administrative Secretary, has been consulting the public on changes to be made to the two methods," he added.

"Under the Basic Law, any amendments to the two methods will need the consent of the CE. Therefore, we will consult the newly-elected CE before publishing the Fifth Report of the Constitutional Development Task Force. The period of consultation concerning the Fourth Report is accordingly extended until May 31," he said.

"This will give the community more time to reach a consensus," he said. "We will endeavor to publish the Fifth Report in the latter half of this year, and complete all necessary legislative work before the election of the third-term CE in 2007."

Editor: Olivia