The Government today refuted comments by Anson Chan that the Central Government has "moved the goalposts" on the procedures for amending the Basic Law’s Annex I regarding the Chief Executive election in 2017.
It said Mrs Chan misquoted a Basic Law provision in her remarks at the Foreign Correspondents' Club yesterday.
It said Paragraph 7 of Annex I of the Basic Law states that: "If there is a need to amend the method for selecting the Chief Executives for the terms subsequent to the year 2007, such amendments must be made with the endorsement of a two-thirds majority of all the members of the Legislative Council and the consent of the Chief Executive, and they shall be reported to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress for approval."
The Government said this provision has not changed since 1990, and expressed regret that Mrs Chan based her allegation against the Central Government on her wrong recollection of what the Basic Law states.