Hong Kong's Acting Chief Executive Carrie Lam said on Tuesday the Hong Kong government will make its best effort 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 that is based on the decisions made by the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee last August, the government will continue to try to win their support and the support of other lawmakers.

Lam, chief secretary for administration, is serving as the acting chief executive as Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying is currently on a visit to South China's Guangdong Province for the opening ceremony of a pilot free trade zone in the province.

She has been meeting lawmakers over the past week to convince them of the importance of the proposed constitutional reform, and try to gain their backing for the changes.

More than half of the public is eager to elect the chief executive via a one-man-one-vote system in 2017, Lam said.

She added that the government will continue to work toward this goal.

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


Newspaper headline: HK govt says it will try to sway lawmakers on reform move