BEIJING, Sept. 16-- Top legislator Zhang Dejiang on Tuesday met with a visiting delegation of the Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions headed by its president Lam Shuk-yee.

Zhang, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), the top legislature, said he hoped the federation would hold on to its principles of patriotism and loving Hong Kong.

He urged the federation to improve its service and contribute more to the prosperity and stability of Hong Kong.

The central government supports the lawful and steady development of democracy in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR), Zhang said.

The NPC Standing Committee's recent decision on electoral reform in Hong Kong complied with the policy of "One Country, Two Systems," the region's Basic Law and its realities, according to Zhang, who said that it laid a solid constitutional foundation for implementing universal suffrage in the selection of Hong Kong's chief executive.

Zhang called on all walks of life in Hong Kong to foster rational communication and carry out the selection of the chief executive according to law.