Hong Kong's constitutional development under the Basic Law is an internal affair of the country and a matter for the Central Authorities and the people to decide.

The Chief Executive’s Office made the statement today in response to media enquiries on the remarks by former governor Chris Patten.

It said that before Hong Kong's return to the motherland, all governors of Hong Kong were not elected by Hong Kong people, and the Sino-British Joint Declaration does not provide for universal suffrage at all.