China and Hong Kong Active Legislators Likely to Have Their Terms Extended by One Year

SCMP Source Cites Measures to Prevent Parliamentary Vacuum Due to Election Postponement

[Asia Economy Beijing=Special Correspondent Jo Young-shin] The Chinese government is reportedly planning to extend the terms of all current Hong Kong Legislative Council members by one year to prevent a legislative vacuum caused by the one-year postponement of the Hong Kong Legislative Council election.

According to the Hong Kong South China Morning Post (SCMP) on the 10th, a source said, "The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), China's legislative body, is expected to support a resolution on the 11th allowing all current Hong Kong legislators to retain their seats for an additional year."

The source added, "Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam proposed the extension of all current legislators' terms to the Chinese government, which considered and decided accordingly. Legislators will be able to extend their terms after going through certain procedures such as taking an oath related to compliance with the Hong Kong Basic Law."

Earlier, the NPC Standing Committee discussed the agenda regarding the extension of Hong Kong Legislative Council members' terms at a meeting on the 9th and is scheduled to announce instructions related to the election postponement on the 11th.

Accordingly, the four current legislators who were disqualified from running in the next election are also expected to have the opportunity to serve an additional one-year term.

Previously, on the 30th of last month, the Hong Kong Electoral Affairs Commission disqualified four current legislators, including Alvin Yeung, chairman of the Civic Party, and Dennis Kwok, as well as 12 pro-democracy figures including Joshua Wong, from running in the next election.

Additionally, Hong Kong authorities postponed the election scheduled for September by one year, citing concerns over the spread of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

Li Xiaobing, a Hong Kong affairs expert at Nankai University, said, "If the election postponement is used as a political purge, it will only undermine the legitimacy of the decision and provide ammunition to critics. It is reasonable to require all legislators to sign and take an oath declaring compliance with the Hong Kong Basic Law."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.