專家，海外華人支持香港的選舉改革 Experts, overseas Chinese support Beijing's decision on Hong Kong's electoral reform

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專家，海外華人支持香港的選舉改革 Experts, overseas Chinese support Beijing's decision on Hong Kong's electoral reform

BEIJING, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- Foreign experts and overseas Chinese have spoken positively of a decision by China's top legislature on Hong Kong's electoral reform, saying it is of great significance to the development and prosperity of Hong Kong.

The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC) decided on Sunday to grant universal suffrage in the election of Hong Kong's chief executive on the basis of nomination by a "broadly representative" committee.

Neo Simutanyi, executive director of the Center for Policy Dialogue, a Zambian think tank, said "the decision by the Chinese government ... is a path in the right direction."

It is of great significance to the long-term development and prosperity of Hong Kong, he added.

Chap Sotharith, chief researcher at the Cambodian Institute for Cooperation and Peace, said issues related to Hong Kong are China's internal affairs, in which neither foreign governments nor other external forces should interfere.

Yang Hekun, deputy chairman of L'Association des Residents en France d'Origine Indochinoise, said Hong Kong follows a unique path in political and economic development, which features such policies as "one country, two systems," and "Hong Kong people ruling Hong Kong with a high degree of autonomy."

The policies are Hong Kong's advantages and the foundation of its prosperity and stability, Yang said, adding that at present the Hong Kong people must be united to ensure the stable advancement of the city.

The president of the Overseas Chinese Association in Paris, Wang Jiaqing, said the core of Hong Kong's electoral reform should be abiding by the Basic Law and sticking to the principle that Hong Kong should be ruled by those who love Hong Kong and China.

Li Ruidong, secretary-general of the Zhejiang University Alumni Association of Japan, said the decision by the NPC Standing Committee reflects the general public opinion of Hong Kong and is conducive to the region's stability.

Hu Shiyun, chairman of the New Overseas Chinese Association of Japan, said Hong Kong has achieved notable development in various areas under the guidance of the "one country, two systems" policy, adding that a stable and prosperous Hong Kong is the common wish of the Hong Kong people and all Chinese as a whole.

Han Cunli, president of the Overseas Chinese General Council in Russia, stressed that it is in the interests of the Hong Kong people and the Chinese as a whole that candidates for Hong Kong's chief executive love Hong Kong and China.

Representatives of the Australian Chinese in Sydney said at a symposium on Hong Kong's electoral reform that the NPC Standing Committee made the decision out of the basic interests of the Hong Kong people, which represents a huge progress in the development of democracy in Hong Kong.

In Mexico, 15 Chinese societies issued a joint declaration to show staunch support for the reform decision.

To safeguard the prosperity and stability of Hong Kong is the mainstream public opinion in Hong Kong, while universal suffrage in the chief-executive election in 2017 is the aspiration of the majority of the Hong Kong people, the document said.

The stable development of Hong Kong since its return to China in 1997 testifies to the fact that the Basic Law is the highest guiding principle that suits the actual development condition of Hong Kong, it added.

Nouvelles d'Europe, a Chinese-language newspaper, said in an editorial that since Hong Kong's return to China, its political system has kept developing, with the electoral systems for its chief executive and legislature seeing steady improvement in accordance with the Basic Law.

The decision by the NPC Standing Committee set the tone for the future development of Hong Kong's democratic political system, it said.

Editor: yan