The President of the new Legislative Council will be elected between Dr Starry Lee, the Legislative Council member of Kowloon Central geographical constituency as well as a member of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong and the NPC Standing Committee, and Mr Chan Chun-ying, the Legislative Council member of the finance functional constituency as well as Hong Kong delegate to the National People’s Congress.
Mr Chan Chun-ying, Photo source: AP News
Mr Chan said that, having served two terms as a member of the Legislative Council, he has accumulated rich experience in presiding over conferences. The support from many colleagues around him is the primary motivation for his decision to run for election. As for Dr Lee, she said that she is now actively preparing for the relevant work of the election. Moreover, she also thanked the support for her from many Legislative Council members of different constituencies.
Mr Chan said that with his rich experience of being the Chairman and the Deputy Chairman of the Finance Committee for a total of seven years, he hoped to apply the good communication skills developed in the banking industry to the important position of the Legislative Council. He mentioned that such an idea has received encouragement and support from many colleagues, which is the main driving force for his decision to run for election. He would start preparing the election platform for the forum and be ready to answer the questions from other Legislative Council members in detail on January 8th.
Dr Starry Lee, Photo source: AP News
As for Dr Lee, she said she is now actively preparing for the relevant work of the election. Besides, she also thanked the nominations of her from many Legislative Council members of different constituencies and the media's focus on her election.
The Legislative Council will hold a two-hour special forum at 9:30 a.m. on Thursday (January 8th). The two candidates will present their election platforms and provide a 5-minute speech each. After that, it will come to their answer sessions for the questions from other Legislative Council members. After the forum concludes, there will be a 10-minute break, and then the election will be held. Members of the Legislative Council will vote by secret ballot.
The Legislative Council, Photo source: AP News
The newly elected members of the Legislative Council have completed their oaths on January 1 and will offer advice and suggestions for the development of Hong Kong and the well-being of citizens over the next four years.
Mr. Nicholas Chan, Photo by Bastille Post
Mr. Nicholas Chan of the legal functional constituency believed Hong Kong should grasp the development advantages brought by the national 15th Five-Year Plan under the principle of "one country, two systems" and integrate into the development of the country. He said that society needs to continue to implement many deepening reforms in the future, including improving the legal and business environment in Hong Kong, to attract more enterprises to develop in Hong Kong.
As for dealing with the aftermath of the Tai Po fire, Mr. Chan said that the problems caused by the fire should be solved one by one as soon as possible. Besides helping the disaster victims, he hoped that a maintenance bureau could be established, providing an option for the corporations. The maintenance bureau can empower them to invite experts to conduct tenders and supervise the process, so that the corporations would not have to worry about whether there would be any violations that they couldn't notice.
Mr. Aaron Bok, Photo by Bastille Post
Mr. Aaron Bok of the engineering functional constituency said that the next key emphasis in work after the fire disaster ought to be the resettlement of the victims. He believed that the government would propose related plans, collect the victims' opinions via the social workers per household, and provide options for the victims to choose from, so that a balance between comforting victims' emotions and implementing regulations could be achieved. Besides, he thought that the new legislative council could discuss how to prevent similar incidents from happening and improve related systems in the future. He pointed out that his primary tasks during the term of office would be assisting in improving the development of Hong Kong's economy and the Northern Metropolis, thinking about how to enhance the quality of infrastructure and citizens' lives.
Regarding the candidate for the President of the Legislative Council, he believed that "it's always good to have competition in elections". In his eyes, the overall ability would be the key factor for the president's selection, since the one who can be the president must have the strongest abilities in all aspects.
Mr. Stanley Ng, Photo by Bastille Post
Mr. Stanley Ng of the Hong Kong Island East geographical constituency said that the oath-taking process was quite smooth. He also pointed out that the election of the President of the Legislative Council would be implemented in accordance with the procedures. He believed that various factors would need to be considered when selecting the president. For instance, the qualifications would be an important factor for consideration.
Mr. Michael Lee, Photo by Bastille Post
Mr. Michael Lee of the Election Committee thought that the members of the Legislative Council should think through their own minds about how they can do better for the Legislative Council, Hong Kong, the country, and the relationship between the executive and the legislative. He said that the role of the President of the Legislative Council is not merely that of a president. Instead, he or she should inform the public about the future development direction and main features of the Legislative Council through his or her own words and behaviour.
Mr. Mark Chong, Photo by Bastille Post
Mr. Mark Chong of the New Territories North West geographical constituency said that he would focus on studying the issue of building management to make it better reflect the thoughts of the citizens. He pointed out that since some contractors have stopped working after the Tai Po fire, it is necessary to pay attention to how to handle the projects that have already been underway. He believed that the government needs to reach an agreement with the contractors resolutely, so that corporations and owners could clearly know whether they need to find new contractors to resume the projects.
Ms. Elaine Chik, Photo by Bastille Post
Ms. Elaine Chik of the Hong Kong Island East geographical constituency said that the Legislative Council would discuss post-disaster reconstruction in the following stage, including related legal issues, major repair works, and bid rigging, etc. She hoped that the above issues could be handled during the term of office.
Mr. Duncan Chiu, Photo by Bastille Post
Mr. Duncan Chiu of the technology and innovation functional constituency said that he was grateful for the votes that had enabled him to be re-elected as a Legislative Council member. He hoped that since innovation and technology would be an important factor for Hong Kong's development in the future, all the members of the Legislative Council could work together to promote and support the development of the innovation and technology sector.
Prof. William Wong, Photo by Bastille Post
Prof. William Wong of the Election Committee said that the new Legislative Council has a lot of work ahead, especially the alignment with the national 15th Five-Year Plan and dealing with the aftermath of the Tai Po fire incident, both of which are of great significance. He mentioned that he would also focus on the development of innovation and technology, since a large proportion of the 15th Five-Year Plan's content is related to innovation and technology, and the HKSAR government also wants to contribute to developing the city into an international innovation and technology hub.
