The central government's chief liaison in Hong Kong has gone on record saying authorities on the mainland are sincere in achieving universal suffrage for Hong Kong.

 

　　CRI's Su Yi has more.

 

　　Zhang Xiaoming, director of the Liaison Office of the Chinese Central People's Government in Hong Kong, has made the comments during a lunch meeting with the city's Legislative Council.

 

　　Zhang Xiaoming is calling for the combined effort of everyone in Hong Kong to make universal suffrage a reality.

 

　　"If we want to achieve universal suffrage sooner, we need to follow the track of the Basic Law and the related decisions of China's top legislature, and avoid taking a wrong path."

 

　　Zhang also says the process needs to adhere to the current governing principle of "one country, two systems".

 

　　"Hong Kong is not a country. It's an administrative region of PRC with high autonomy. Therefore, when we are designing the universal suffrage system of Hong Kong, we must comply with the "One Country, Two Systems" principle and make sure the country's sovereignty safety and the central government's legal rights are well protected."

 

　　Commenting on the so-called 'Occupy Central' movement which calls for a mass demonstration to bring the Central hub of Hong Kong to a stand-still, the chief liaison says he is against it, saying it violates the law of Hong Kong and does harm to young people.

 

　　Ahead of the lunch meeting, Hong Kong's Chief Executive CY Leung has issued a statement, saying Beijing has always acted strictly in accordance with Hong Kong's Basic Law.

 

　　Leung also says the SAR government is happy to see communication between representatives of the central government and Hong Kong lawmakers.

 

　　For CRI, I'm Su Yi.