Electoral improvements in HK will restore political order, get democracy back on track

Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said on Thursday that she has every confidence that the city's electoral changes will return Hong Kong to the track of democracy and it will gradually achieve the ultimate goal of universal suffrage.

Making the remarks at a question-and-answer session at the Legislative Council, Lam said that due to the obstructive moves of some people, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region's path of democracy had gone astray since 2015.

In June 2015, a political reform plan that pledged to elect the chief executive by "one person, one vote" was vetoed by opposition lawmakers. Since then, Hong Kong has been embroiled in years of political turmoil.

With electoral improvements made in order to restore political order, Lam said she is fully confident that Hong Kong will reach the stage of universal suffrage in a gradual and orderly manner as enshrined in the Basic Law.

The government plans to put forward a bill to the Legislative Council on Wednesday for first reading to amend local electoral laws, after approval by the Executive Council, which is scheduled to meet on Tuesday, Lam said.

Following the amendment to Annex I and Annex II of the Hong Kong SAR Basic Law on March 30 by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, China's top legislature, the SAR government needs to amend the local legislation, which involves five primary laws and several subsidiary laws, in order to bring them into line with the amended annexes.

The government is also ramping up its efforts to explain the electoral changes to the public. As of Wednesday night, Lam and principal government officials had held five briefing sessions among civil servants and 68 seminars with cross-sector representatives. More than 100,000 brochures explaining the electoral changes have also been distributed to the public, according to Lam.

She noted that the cultivation of capable and patriotic administrators is also underway, adding that a civil service college proposed in her 2017 Policy Address will be set up at the end of this year. Lam also called for more civic leaders from political parties and think tanks to actively participate in the government's future work.

Enhance cooperation

Noting that an improved electoral system would enhance cooperation between the Legislative Council and the government, Lam said that the more than 200 initiatives proposed in her 2020 Policy Address, including those on housing, innovation and technology, could be smoothly implemented.

Also on Thursday morning, the Legislative Council's subcommittee on electoral reform held its fourth meeting to discuss detailed arrangements with government officials. During the meeting, Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Erick Tsang Kwok-wai said the government would consider empowering the to-be-established vetting committee to scrutinize the qualification of candidates standing for district councils.

Chen Shuman contributed to this story.