ENG-2007 — Page 42

10 | Constitution and Administration

(23) import and export; (24) textiles and garment; (25) wholesale and retail; (26) information technology; (27) catering; and (28) District Council. The labour functional constituency returns three Legislative Council members, while the other 27 functional constituencies return one member each.

The electorate of functional constituencies which represent professional groups is generally based on membership of professions with well-established and recognised qualifications, including statutory qualifications. Each individual member has one vote. The electorate of functional constituencies representing economic or social groups is generally made up of corporate members of major organisations representative of the relevant sectors. Each corporate member appoints an authorised representative to cast the vote on its behalf in an election.

To become a candidate in the functional constituencies, one must satisfy the same age and residential requirements as in a geographical constituency election, be a registered elector on the Final Register, and also a registered elector of or have a substantial connection with the relevant functional constituency. To give due recognition to the significant contribution made by foreign nationals and the fact that Hong Kong is an international city and to meet the requirement of the relevant provision in the Basic Law, permanent residents of the HKSAR who are not of Chinese nationality or who have the right of abode in foreign countries may stand for election in 12 designated functional constituencies (functional constituencies No. 3, 6, 7, 10, 11, 14, 15, 16, 18, 20, 21, 23 as above).

Electoral System for the Chief Executive

In accordance with the Basic Law, the Chief Executive shall be elected by an Election Committee (EC). The EC is composed of 800 members from four sectors. (which are in turn composed of 38 subsectors), comprising:

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664 members of 35 subsectors who are returned through elections;

96 ex officio members who are Hong Kong deputies to the National People's Congress (NPC) and members of the Legislative Council under the NPC subsector and the Legislative Council subsector; and

40 members under the religious subsector who are nominated by six designated bodies.

The 2006 EC subsector elections were held on December 10, 2006. The term of office of the new EC commenced on February 1, 2007. The election of the third term Chief Executive by the EC was held on March 25, 2007. Mr Donald Tsang Yam-kuen was declared as returned at the election. On April 2, 2007, in accordance with the provisions of the Basic Law and the outcome of the election by the EC, the State Council of the PRC appointed Mr Tsang as the third term Chief Executive, with his term of office commencing on July 1, 2007.

Implementing Universal Suffrage for the Chief Executive and the Legislative Council

The Government is firmly committed to attaining the ultimate aim of universal suffrage to elect the Chief Executive and to form the Legislative Council in