The Constitutional Affairs Bureau has refuted claims by Legislator Emily Lau that the Commission on Strategic Development's Committee on Governance & Political Development will reject universal suffrage.

Speaking on Radio Television Hong Kong programme Letter to Hong Kong today, Ms Lau said as most committee members have conservative political and business backgrounds, the committee would reject universal suffrage.

In rebuttal, the bureau said committee members are drawn from a broad spectrum of community, including professionals, academics, businessmen, politicians, legislators, and labour and media representatives.

Set up last November to advise the Chief Executive, the committee has been providing discussion papers to legislators, which are also available to the public on its website, while relevant government officials have also attended Legislative Council meetings to hear the committee's views.

The bureau reiterated the election of the Chief Executive and LegCo through universal suffrage has been laid down in the Basic Law, and will be achieved gradually. The Government will maintain close communication and with legislators of different political backgrounds to form a broad consensus on important issues.

On the upcoming Election Committee subsector election and the Chief Executive election, the bureau said they will be held entirely according to the law as Hong Kong had a fine tradition of open, fair and clean elections.