China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region holds 8th Legislative Council election

The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) started its 8th Legislative Council election at 07:30 on Sunday with all 612 polling stations across the region opened to over 4.13 million eligible voters.

A total of 90 members will be elected to the Legislative Council. Specifically, there will be 40 Members returned by the Election Committee, 30 Members returned by functional constituencies, and 20 Members returned by geographical constituencies through direct elections. Their four-year term will begin on January 1, 2026.

The voting time of Sunday's election has been extended to 23:30 with the result to be released early Monday.

To facilitate voting for different groups, dedicated polling stations have been set up for civil servants, healthcare workers, ethnic minorities, and other communities.

For eligible voters affected by the fire at the housing complex Wang Fuk Court, free shuttle bus services and special notifications from social workers will be provided.

John Lee, chief executive of the HKSAR, has called on all eligible voters to actively participate in the election. He noted that completing the election as scheduled will help maintain social stability and is also a strong support for the post-disaster work of the Wang Fuk Court.

Currently, investigation is underway after the search was completed at the Wang Fuk Court.

The blaze had claimed 159 lives by 14:00 on Wednesday, with 31 people still missing, the Hong Kong Police Force said at a press briefing earlier Wednesday.

China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region holds 8th Legislative Council election

China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region holds 8th Legislative Council election

China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region holds 8th Legislative Council election

China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region holds 8th Legislative Council election

China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region holds 8th Legislative Council election

Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Thursday presided over a State Council executive meeting that studied work on building a unified national market and reviewed and approved a plan for the development of a modern emergency response system during the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030).

Noting that building a unified national market is essential to advancing high-quality development, the meeting called for deepening institutional frameworks in areas such as property rights protection, market access, fair competition, social credit and market exit mechanisms.

The meeting also urged efforts to advance high-standard connectivity of market infrastructure to facilitate smooth economic circulation and effectively reduce logistics costs across society.

Emergency management is critical to protecting people's lives and property, the meeting said. It called for accelerating the development of a modern emergency response system, deepening reform and innovation in emergency management, and improving coordinated response mechanisms.

Efforts should be made to strengthen risk prevention at the source, enhance monitoring, forecasting and early warning, and accelerate a shift in governance toward proactive prevention, according to the meeting.

A draft revision of the Law on the People's Bank of China was also discussed and approved in principle at the meeting, which decided to submit the draft to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress for deliberation.

Chinese premier chairs State Council executive meeting