"China Pushes Ahead with Hong Kong Election System Overhaul to Complete by May"

Regina Ip, chairperson of the New People's Party (center), along with pro-China lawmakers in Hong Kong, held a press conference in Hong Kong on the 11th to express their support for the Hong Kong election system reform approved by the National People's Congress of China. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Cho Hyun-ui] It is anticipated that the Hong Kong electoral system reform will be completed by May. This follows the approval of the draft reform plan at the National People's Congress (NPC) of China.

According to Hong Kong Ming Pao and others on the 15th, Tam Yiu-chung, the only Hong Kong member of the NPC Standing Committee, stated on a broadcast the previous day, "Given the tight schedule, the NPC Standing Committee is expected to soon finalize a concrete electoral reform plan so that the related legislative amendments can be completed by May."

The draft reform plan for Hong Kong's electoral system, approved at the NPC plenary session on the 11th, only includes increasing the Election Committee for the Chief Executive and the Legislative Council (Hong Kong's parliament) seats by 300 and 20 respectively.

The NPC Standing Committee will decide on the details, amend the electoral appendices in Hong Kong's mini-constitution, the Basic Law, and then Hong Kong will proceed with amending related local laws. Ahead of the Chief Executive election scheduled for March next year, Hong Kong must hold the Election Committee election beforehand, and the Legislative Council election, postponed by one year from last year, is also planned.

Tam, who recently returned from attending the Beijing Two Sessions, conveyed that Han Zheng, a member of the Chinese Communist Party Politburo Standing Committee and Vice Premier in charge of Hong Kong and Macau affairs, described the electoral reform as a "carefully considered decision." He added, "The Chinese government is well aware that the Hong Kong electoral reform will provoke international backlash, but has decided to push it through nonetheless."

Meanwhile, the South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported that Zhang Xiaoming, Deputy Director of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, will hold talks over three days starting today in Hong Kong with about 1,000 business elites, community leaders, and pro-Beijing politicians regarding the electoral reform.

SCMP cited sources saying, "Deputy Director Zhang will gather responses from Hong Kong figures about the draft reform plan and also urge the pro-Beijing camp not to deepen internal divisions but to strengthen cooperation." It added, "During these talks, pro-Beijing Legislative Council members are expected to express concerns about the possible reduction in the number of directly elected seats in the Legislative Council."

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