LegCo launches spokesman system to streamline responses, says Starry Lee

Legislative Council President Starry Lee Wai-king said the introduction of a new spokesman system in the Legislative Council aims to enhance its ability to respond to inquiries from the public and the media, while noting that representation will depend on the nature of each issue.

Speaking to the media on Wednesday, Lee described the practice of issuing press statements through a designated spokesman as “reasonable and logical.” She noted that many large organizations and government departments in Hong Kong already adopt similar systems.

With LegCo handling a high volume of media inquiries, Lee said the move represents a necessary step toward institutionalizing its communication mechanism.

When asked whether the spokesman represents all lawmakers, Lee said the scope of representation is determined on a case-by-case basis. She added that all official statements issued through the spokesman are subject to internal procedural review, but declined to disclose further details of the process.

Before the introduction of the new mechanism, official LegCo statements were typically issued either in the name of the council president or jointly by all members following internal consultation.

Since the start of the current legislative term, the spokesman system has been used in several high-profile cases, including responses to the British government’s six-monthly report on Hong Kong and the United States’ 2026 Hong Kong Policy Act Report.

The spokesman has also issued responses to international assessments such as Reporters Without Borders’ World Press Freedom Index and German broadcaster Deutsche Welle’s decision to honor media figure Jimmy Lai Chee-ying.

Most recently, the system was used today to release a report from the Supervisory Committee concerning lawmaker Judy Chan Kapui, who had been investigated over a careless driving case.

 

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