New political landscape

The proposed improvements will mainly center on restructuring the SAR's Election Committee. In addition to changes to its size, composition and formation method, the committee will be entrusted with electing a relatively large proportion of Legislative Council members and with taking part directly in the nomination of all candidates for the legislature.

Fan said the arrangement for Election Committee members to choose some legislators is not new－it was adopted in the Hong Kong SAR's first-term legislature in 1998.

Veteran political scholar Lau Siu-kai, vice-president of the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macao Studies, a national think tank, said the initiative would bring Hong Kong a brand new political environment, with a higher threshold for administration candidates and wider participation from various sectors.

Lau said the current formation of the SAR's election committee mainly favors the interests of business groups.

The reshuffle, which aims to include a wider range of representatives on the committee, would help bring more patriotic forces representing grassroots people's interests into Hong Kong's governance team. This would enable the government to better overcome possible obstruction by vested interests and consortiums to future economic and livelihood reforms, he said.

Lau said he thought that after the administration led by patriots is formed, the pro-establishment camp would not go unchallenged and should still be held accountable for its work.

After Hong Kong is clear of political strife and can refocus on developing its economy and improving people's lives, its administrators must work hard to resolve deep-seated social and livelihood problems in order to fulfill their duties, he added.