would stimulate discussion about the future direction of Hong Kong, were meant for the respective candidates to put forward their political visions for public scrutiny. Other minor candidates included The Bus Uncle. Debates This was the first time for Hong Kong to have a broadcasting debate between the Chief Executive candidates. Two debates were held – one on 1 March and the other on 15 March. The first debate consisted of an audience of 900, mainly the politicians, including the 530 Election Committee members. The public was excluded. The second debate consisted of an audience of 200 people randomly chosen by the University of Hong Kong and the Lingnan University. The first debate was held on 1 March 2007, at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre from 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm, presided by Rita Fan; the second 90-minute debate was held on 15 March 2007 at the TVB City in Tseung Kwan O, co-organized by the 8 main media corporations in Hong Kong. Both debates were broadcast live by TVB, ATV and RTHK. The first debate Format 530 members of the Election Committee attended the forum, which was stage-managed. The general public was not allowed to attend the debate but their questions to the candidates were collected in advance through fax or e-mails. A total of 3,409 questions were submitted, and 6 of them were selected for the candidates to answer in the debate. Direct questioning between the candidates was prohibited. The 90-minute debate was divided into 4 sessions. The two candidates were first given 3 minutes to deliver their election platform; Leong went first. After that there was a question-and-answer session. Each of the chosen questioners had 30 seconds in which to raise questions, and the candidates were allowed 20 minutes to respond to each question without using any props, notes, charts or diagrams. After the Q&A, Tsang was the first one to give his conclusion of the debate. Issues Questions raised by 22 members of the Election Committee and 7 citizens covered areas of democracy (doubts on universal suffrage), economic development, educational reform, etc. The issues which drew most heated argument from both candidates concerned democratic development and the relationship between central and SAR governments. Leong challenged Tsang to support the target of universal suffrage in 2012. Leong suggested the central government's pragmatic and rational attitude was amply demonstrated by the total trust it put in