LegCo farewell banquet scrapped with John Lee’s understanding, says Andrew Leung

Legislative Council (LegCo) President Andrew Leung Kwan-yuen said the decision to cancel the end-of-term farewell banquet had been acknowledged by Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu.

Leung stressed that the cancellation would not affect the relationship between the legislature and the administration, noting that all relevant parties agreed the arrangement was reasonable.

He revealed that the decision was made after discussions with the Chief Executive’s Office (CEO) and was finalized only after obtaining Lee’s understanding.

Leung added that further discussions with the CEO would be needed to decide whether a similar banquet might be held in the future.

He said he was not concerned that cancelling the farewell event would break tradition, describing the current LegCo as “courageous and decisive” in addressing various matters.

Leung announced in late September that he would not seek re-election in the upcoming LegCo general election, ending his nine-year tenure as president.

When asked about his preferred candidate to succeed him, Leung said it would be “inappropriate” to comment at this stage.