Business people walk in front of a barricade on a closed road in a part of Hong Kong's financial central district occupied by protesters on Monday.[Photo/Agencies]

Chief Secretary for Administration Carrie Lam Cheng Yuetngor urged the opposition lawmakers not to disappoint the public, who still strongly hope to cast ballots in 2017.

"I urge all Leg Co members to think twice and not to destroy completely the limited 'political space' remaining before the second-round public consultation has yet to commence," Lam told the legislature on Wednesday afternoon.

If the reform package was vetoed by the Legislative Council, Lam cautioned, the next city chief would again be chosen by 1,200 electors in 2017. As a result, universal suffrage of the chief executive would not become reality before 2022.

The consultation paper suggests that a person only needs to be recommended by as few as 100 nominating committee members to get onto the nominators' ballot. Lam assured that process would also serve as an open and competitive battle for the top job.

Hong Kong's chief executive, Leung Chunying, cautioned opposition law makers and appealed for rational discussions from the public under a spirit of compromise.