Hong Kong Chief Executive Donald Tsang (left) and Civic Party lawmaker Audrey Eu pose before going on live TV for a debate on Hong Kong's political reform on June 17, 2010. [China Daily]

Chief Executive Donald Tsang has once again urged pan-democrat legislators to act in Hong Kong's best interests by taking a bold and responsible step forward in supporting the 2012 constitutional reform package.

The government is a few votes short of the 40 needed to have the electoral reform package passed in the Legislative Council, he said in a televised debate with legislator Audrey Eu at the Central Government Offices on Thursday.

Tsang reiterated that the government's reform package is democratic, progressive, pragmatic and consistent with legal provisions, as well as that it stands the best chance of being approved by the Legislative Council.

"We should be mindful of the fact that any package will eventually be put to the same test. It has to obtain the approval of a two-thirds majority, or 40 votes, in the Legislative Council. Otherwise, we will get nowhere. We are now short a few votes. Just a few votes. With them the package can be passed," he said.

Tsang said the dispute over constitutional reform has been an unsettling experience for Hong Kong residents for years, affecting their faith in the country, the government, himself as their leader and their belief in the democratic process.

"To break this deadlock, all those involved in public administration must show their commitment and make clear their support for this reform package. If the pan-democrat camp continues to oppose the package for the sake of opposing, then Hong Kong will be doomed to stay put. Empty talk and a refusal to move ahead will not lead to democracy and, in fact, will not lead Hong Kong anywhere."

He emphasized universal suffrage is a common goal. For it to be achieved, it is necessary to abandon the use of rhetoric and take a solid step forward, which will allow the Central Government, the Hong Kong Government, the Hong Kong people, the pan-democrat camp and the pro-establishment camp to embrace universal suffrage.

"I have already secured a timetable for universal suffrage. The chief executive and the Legislative Council may be elected by universal suffrage in 2017 and 2020 respectively. The door to universal suffrage is open. Our journey toward greater democracy has begun," Tsang said.

"On our shoulders rests the hopes of the seven million people in Hong Kong. We have nothing to fear, but we have to seize every minute and every second that is left, to go as far as we can and achieve as much as possible."

Tsang said the purpose of the debate was to let the public understand the arguments both for and against the government's reform package. It was also an opportunity for him to explain the importance of the reform package to the development of democracy in Hong Kong.

By engaging in the debate, he said, Hong Kong has been exposed to a new political culture, one that requires the chief executive to be even more accountable to the public.