Secretary-General of the NPC Standing Committee Yang Zhenwu and Director of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Luo Huining attend the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China Election Meeting for Deputies to the 14th National People's Congress first plenary meeting in Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre on Nov 21, 2022. (ANDY CHONG / CHINA DAILY)
The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region will elect 36 deputies to the 14th National People’s Congress, China’s top legislature, on Dec 15, with the nomination period starting on Wednesday and running through Nov 30.
The electoral conference held its first plenary session earlier in the day, which was attended by 1,107 members
The decision was made at a presidium meeting of the election conference in Hong Kong on Monday.
The electoral conference held its first plenary session earlier in the day, which was attended by 1,107 members. A 19-member presidium was elected to preside over the conference.
Chaired by Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu, the presidium also includes Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee, convener of the Executive Council, and Maria Tam Wai-chu, a member of the Committee for the Basic Law of the National People’s Congress Standing Committee.
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NPCSC Secretary-General Yang Zhenwu, who came to Hong Kong to preside over the election work, said that the principle of “one country, two systems” has entered a new phase, which creates favorable conditions for having the election run smoothly.
Yang also said that he hopes election members will conscientiously perform duties as prescribed in the nation’s Constitution and in the HKSAR Basic Law to elect deputies who are broadly representative of Hong Kong.
A 19-member presidium, including Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu; Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee, Convenor of the Executive Council; and Maria Tam Wai-chu, a member of the Committee for the Basic Law of the National People's Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC), was elected to preside over the conference. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)
He urged the members to firmly uphold the bottom line of safeguarding national security, saying that any action that attempts to endanger national security with this election should not be tolerated.
On the same day, Tam Yiu-chung, a member of the NPCSC, said that he will not seek reelection in this year’s NPC deputies election because of his age.
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Lee, who tested positive for COVID-19 on Sunday evening after his return from Thailand, was absent from the plenary session on Monday morning. He co-chaired the following presidium meeting by video.