British Consul-General: One Country Two Systems is working well but the target should still be universal suffrage when the people call for it.

Speaking to the media on 24 February, the British Consul-General Stephen Bradley endorsed the British Government's hope for universal suffrage in a time frame determined by the people. Asked whether it would be opportune to implement universal suffrage for the selection of the Chief Executive in 2007 and for the LegCo elections in 2008, he refused to comment, arguing that the debate was ongoing and that he didn't want to involve himself in active politics. He went on to reiterate the statement made by Jack Straw, the British Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, in the British Government's biannual report on Hong Kong, published on 23 Feb 2004. He quoted from the report the Government's hopes "to see early progress towards the Basic Law's ultimate aim of the selection of the Chief Executive and the election of all members of the Legislative Council by universal suffrage at a pace in step with the wishes of the people." Bradley added that this is a policy that the Government has held "for a long time, and it's still there."

Questioned further on the pace of change, he commented that "it's not for me to advise people in Hong Kong on how they proceed, this is a matter of local politics, this is for Hong Kong people and the Hong Kong government to deal with, it's not for me to stand from the outside and advise them." He conceded that the issue of democratic reform is "clearly at the top of everybody's agenda at the moment."

He proceeded to endorse the principle of One Country Two Systems, arguing that it originates in the Joint Declaration and that it continues to be successful. Dismissing criticisms from a number of pro-Beijing figures that people in Hong Kong tend to neglect 'one country' in favour of 'two systems' particularly in reference to political issues, Bradley commented that "one country is absolutely fundamental, it's not questioned and I've not heard it questioned by anyone in Hong Kong, so I don't really think that's the issue." He stressed that a separate system was vital to maintain Hong Kong's capitalist economy, concluding that "it's not a question of one country for economics and two systems for politics." He added that he believes that "the system of One Country Two Systems has been working very well and we continue to believe that."

For the transcript, please see
http://www.britishconsulate.org.hk/english/press/pr040224.htm