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Following is the transcript of remarks by the Chief Secretary for Administration, Mrs Carrie Lam, at a media session after attending a meeting on constitutional development hosted by the Labour Party at the Legislative Council Complex tonight(February 17):
Reporter: Did you find the talks rewarding? Have you managed to change the Labour Party's views?
Chief Secretary for Administration: I can only say that we value very much each and every of these opportunities to be able to have a direct dialogue with members of the Legislative Council as well as the representatives of the political parties. The position of the Labour Party on the universal suffrage in the selection of the Chief Executive is pretty obvious. And of course there is a gap between their position and what we are talking about, and which is basically that any method in the selection of the Chief Executive via universal suffrage must be based on the Basic Law and the relevant decision and interpretations of the National People's Congress Standing Committee. Having said that, I think we are still in the middle of the five-month consultation period. We will continue to reach out to as many stakeholders and also members of political parties as possible. And hopefully we will be able to put across our message and sort of reduce our differences and try to reach a consensus for us to move forward.
(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.)
Ends/Monday, February 17, 2014
Issued at HKT 22:49
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