The Legislative Council on Thursday began a two-day intensive induction course for the 90 lawmakers elected earlier this month, marking the start of preparations before the new term commences in January.
Held behind closed doors from Thursday to Friday, the briefing covers core aspects of LegCo operations, including the council’s powers, implementation mechanisms, the oath-taking procedure, declaration of interests, and guidelines for submitting questions, bills and motions.
The first four sessions, along with an inauguration luncheon, were mandatory for all legislators, while the remaining sessions are required only for newly elected members.
Ahead of the briefing, Olympian Vivian Kong Man-wai was seen interacting warmly with LegCo’s Deputy Secretary General Thomas Wong, while accountancy functional constituency newcomer Webster Ng Kam-wah handed out his name cards to colleagues.
Election Committee legislator Adrian Pedro Ho King-hong said both new and returning members engaged in constructive communication, describing LegCo as “a system where everyone helps each other” and expressing optimism for the new term.
As the full-day program began at 9.30am, several lawmakers arrived after the scheduled start time.
Among them were Territories South East representative Christine Fong Kwok-shan — widely known as the “Queen of Votes” — chairman of the DAB Gary Chan Hak-kan, Kowloon East lawmaker Cheung Pui-kong, Technology and Innovation representative Duncan Chiu Tat-kun, and Election Committee member Ginny Man Wing-yee.
Another newcomer, Michelle Tang Ming-sum of the Election Committee constituency, arrived nearly an hour late.
Speaking afterward, Fong said she had been busy thanking voters earlier that morning and received residents’ calls while driving back to the Legislative Council, causing an unexpected delay. She stressed that she “values the LegCo briefing sessions very much” and will set aside more buffer time in the future.
