The advancement of democracy in the special administrative region (SAR) of China suffered a blow when opposition lawmakers voted down the government's constitutional reform package, officials and political leaders said yesterday.

"Democratic development will come to a standstill," said Rafael Hui Si-yan, chief secretary for administration.

The reform proposals would have broadened the democratic element in the 2007 chief executive (CE) and 2008 Legislative Council (LegCo) elections.

But despite the majority of people in the SAR supporting them, opposition lawmakers preferred maintaining the status quo to moving ahead on the road to democracy, Hui said.

The package needed the support of two-thirds of the 60-member LegCo, but 24 opposition members voted against it.

Reviewing the events that led to the blocking of the package, Chief Executive Donald Tsang told a news briefing yesterday:

"We did not fail, but we did not succeed (either). We have got the respect of the people."

The government will continue to work with the legislature, for there are a lot of issues such as Hong Kong's economy and people's livelihood that require both to co-operate for the greater interest of the public, he said.

As far as political reforms are concerned, there will be no substantial changes "besides a few minor local legal amendments to clarify issues such as the (next) CE's tenure" and the 2008 (LegCo) election.

The earliest starting point for possible changes, in Tsang's opinion, will be 2012. And yet, nobody is sure at this moment what it is going to be.

He pledged that the Commission on Strategic Development (CSD) will work hard to deliver a road map in early 2007.

A spokesman for the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council said earlier that "it is a consistent stance of the central government to support the development of democracy in proper order in Hong Kong in line with the Basic Law."

"We hope that Hong Kong people find a suitable road leading to the development of Hong Kong democracy with a reasonable and realistic attitude and a sense of responsibility for the history."

Business leaders and politicians expressed worry that Hong Kong's political development might be hampered by the voting down of the reform package.

National People's Congress Hong Kong deputy Lau Pui-king said the rejection would pose a difficulty for the government to make progress on constitutional reform.

She feared that it would also create obstacles for the review of the roles of district councils, which was suggested by Tsang in his maiden policy address in October.

"As the package was rejected, the momentum for the review of the councils would be affected," she said.

Another National People's Congress local deputy, Wong Kwok-kin, said the society might be politicized.

"Some opposition camp politicians might raise political demands even when they are discussing social and economic issues, which will create more conflicts," he said.

Wong said political debate should be set aside, and the community should focus on livelihood and economic issues.

Standing Committee member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference Yu Kwok-chun said the credibility of the Legislative Council might be affected.

The State Council's Hong Kong and Macao Research Institute legal expert Wang Zhenmin said the rejection of the package might delay Hong Kong democratic development by seven years.

In Beijing, National People's Congress Standing Committee member Tsang Hin-chi said the opposition parties should be held responsible for halting Hong Kong's democratic development.

(China Daily December 23, 2005)