Lawmakers urged to support Hong Kong's constitutional reform proposal

Hong Kong's Acting Chief Executive Carrie Lam on Tuesday said the government will make its best efforts to garner support for the upcoming constitutional reform proposal.

Speaking before an Executive Council meeting, Lam said although the pan-democrats have vowed to reject any reform proposal based on the National People's Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC) decisions made last August, the government would continue to try winning their and other lawmakers' support, Xinhua news agency reported.

Lam, chief secretary for administration, serves as the acting chief executive as Chief Executive C.Y. Leung is on a visit to China.

She has been meeting lawmakers from various parties in the past week to stress the importance of the constitutional reform, and try to gain their approval.

More than half of the public has been looking forward to electing the chief executive under the one-man-one-vote principle in 2017, Lam said, adding that the government would continue to work towards this goal.

She also reiterated that constitutional reform must proceed in accordance with the Basic Law and the relevant NPCSC decisions, which are the principles at its foundation, adding that the government's proposal must abide by these provisions.