Electoral change looms as China's top legislative body meet next Monday

China’s top legislative body will meet next Monday and Tuesday to hammer out details regarding changes to Hong Kong’s electoral system, Tam Yiu-chung said today.

Tam, Hong Kong’s sole delegate to the National People’s Congress Standing Committee, said the standing committee will meet in a two-day meeting starting next Monday, and the agenda includes “perfecting Annex I and II of the Basic Law.”

State media Xinhua also announced at 8pm that the NPCSC will scrutinize bills including amendments to Basic Law Annex I, which states the way of electing the SAR’s Chief Executive, as well as Annex II of the city’s mini-constitution regarding the composition of the Legislative Council and its voting procedures.

Zang Tiewei, spokesperson of the standing committee’s Legislative Commission, said the meeting next week has a great significance in ensuring Hong Kong’s long-term stability.

“The NPCSC’s meeting next week is to perfect Hong Kong’s One Country, Two Systems principle, safeguard China’s constitution and the constitutional order under the Basic Law, as well as perfect Hong Kong’s electoral system,” Zang said.

“It is also very important in safeguarding Hong Kong’s long-term stability and prosperity, as well as the country’s sovereignty, national security and development interest,” he added.

On March 11, National People’s Congress passed a proposal of improving Hong Kong's electoral system, including to introduce a qualification review committee to vet election candidates, as well as to increase the number of seats in the Legislative Council to 90 from 70. 

On top of the current geographical and functional constituencies, there will be a new Election Committee constituency. However, the NPC has not decided the specific allocation of seats in the new 90-member Legco.

But Zhang Xiaoming, deputy director of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office said more lawmakers will be elected in the powerful Election Committee constituency than in the functional and geographical constituencies for the new-look Legislative Council, he said  after attending a three-day forum gauging opinions in Hong Kong last week.

NPC resolution also stated that members of the Election Committee will increase to 1,500 from 1,200, but it has not decided whether to remove all 117 district councillor seats from the committee.