Hong Kong CE says universal suffrage still on track

Hong Kong will continue to exercise a high degree of autonomy as promised in the Basic Law, and speculation about any policy change is pointless, according to Leung Chun-ying, chief executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, who noted that top legislator Zhang Dejiang has laid down a guideline for chief executive elections by universal suffrage in 2017.

At the end of his four-day trip to Beijing, Leung said Friday that the central government has reaffirmed its policy of "one country, two systems", that "Hong Kong people govern Hong Kong" and will have a high degree of autonomy as provided in the Basic Law.

The word "autonomy" was not found in the government work report, but Leung pointed out that Premier Li Keqiang did pledge to fully and accurately implement the Basic Law. The principle of a high degree of autonomy will not be shaken, he said.