Talking to the media at Government House on Sunday in response to that day's pro-democracy rally, Mr Tsang said that he had "heard rally participants' voices, felt their feelings and shared their pursuits," and stated that the Central Government "also perfectly understands" their aspirations.

Mr Tsang, who recently succeeded Tung Chee-hwa as Chief Executive, disappointed reformists when in his first major policy speech to the Legislative Council in October he skirted around the sensitive issue of democracy, giving no guarantees that universal suffrage will be introduced in the territory any time soon.

However, in his latest statement, Mr Tsang pointed out the Central Government and the Administration are "actively leading the community in pursuing universal suffrage in an orderly fashion," and he stressed their unstinting commitment towards this goal.

The Chief Executive expressed the hope that the Legislative Council would accept the Government's political reform proposal, which he described as a step forward towards universal suffrage. He added that he saw no contradiction between the package and the pursuit of a roadmap and timetable.

Mr Tsang stated that the package is the result of a prolonged consultation, and there is little scope for change. But he pledged to see what could be done to perfect it, while the issues of a roadmap and timetable will be dealt with by the Commission on Strategic Development as soon as possible.

"I am 60 years of age. I certainly want to see universal suffrage taking place in Hong Kong in my time," Mr Tsang remarked.