Pragmatism should prevail in order to arrive at an arrangement most suitable for Hong Kong's political development, Chief Secretary for Administration Donald Tsang told the Legislative Council (LegCo) yesterday.

Tsang made the remarks while commenting on the procession that drew about 200,000 people to the street on Thursday to voice demands that ranged from better governance to democracy.

Tsang said the central authorities had given careful and thorough consideration to Hong Kong's situation when the National People's Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC) ruled out universal suffrage for the election of Chief Executive and LegCo in 2007/08.

Yet the NPCSC decision left open the possibility to amend the election mechanism to enhance the representativeness of both, Tsang emphasized.

He said the government task force on constitutional development of which he is the head would organize more focus group discussions in different sectors and districts so that the future arrangement would be acceptable to citizens and the central government.

Universal suffrage remains the ultimate objective of the government, he reiterated.

Meanwhile, the Chief Executive (CE) Office announced that Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa would meet with 22 legislators who had earlier in the day signed a letter requesting to meet him to discuss their demand for universal suffrage in 2007 and 2008.

Democratic Party Chairman Yeung Sum said the "democrats" wished that the Hong Kong and central governments could, in the wake of the procession, study the local situation again in spite of the NPCSC rulings in April.

Tsang said the central government had a full understanding of the local situation including the procession on Thursday and was fully aware of the people's wishes on democracy and the government's performance.

He said Hong Kong people should utilize the current opportunities to improve the CE and LegCo elections and win the trust of the central government.

Noticing there were hugely different estimates on the turnout of Thursday's procession, Tsang said the number was not important. "The fact is that there were many people and as the chief executive has said, the government is fully aware of the citizens' aspirations," he said.

He said people taking part in the procession, while expressing their wishes on freedom, democracy and better governance, should also know the government would have to be pragmatic and careful in taking political reform forward.

Professor Lau Siu-kai, head of the government's Central Policy Unit, said demonstrations have become part of the political life of Hong Kong and the government is committed to analyzing and amending public policies as necessary.

Lau said while it was understandable that some citizens were disappointed with the pace of political development, they should also understand that it would be unrealistic to expect it to follow a pace faster than being gradual and orderly.

Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce Chief Executive Eden Woon said the march was peaceful, and believed it would not cause any negative effect to the local investment environment and to the relationship between Hong Kong and the mainland.

(HK Edition 07/03/2004 page2)