Beijing to oversee election body

The membership of a committee vetting election candidates should be reported to the central government, according to the proposed amendment regarding the electoral changes.

But that does not mean the SAR administration needs to obtain Beijing's approval, the Department of Justice said in a Legislative Council meeting yesterday.

The amendment tabled to Legco states that the SAR administration has to notify Beijing of the candidate eligibility review committee's members after its establishment.

The Department of Justice said due to the constitutional position and duty of the committee, relevant requirements are needed and local legislation has to be amended upon further review.

During the meeting, lawmaker Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee raised concerns over whether notifying the central government meant that the SAR administration will need to obtain Beijing's approval over membership of the committee.

In response, the department said according to the literal meaning of the amendments, Beijing will have a record of the membership, but that does not mean it has to approve it.

If the chief executive fails to submit a record to the central government, citizens can ask for a submission of the record through Hong Kong's courts, according to the department.

The proposed amendments also state that the committee's decision on candidates' eligibility - based on the recommendations from Hong Kong's Committee for Safeguarding National Security - shall not be challenged in courts.

On a related topic, in response to lawmakers' concerns, the government also proposed that amendments stating electoral procedures for geographical and functional constituencies will not be halted if a candidate dies or is disqualified before the polling day.

The government said the amendment will bring the electoral arrangements of the two constituencies in line with the Election Committee constituency.

This came less than a week after Legco passed a bill for the electoral changes, stating that electoral procedures will be called to a halt and restarted if a candidate dies or is disqualified before the polling day, with electoral expenses not returned to candidates.

Although the government said the move is to ensure Hongkongers have a choice, as some constituencies might only have two candidates, lawmakers slammed such provisions as unfair, as some might use this as a loophole to delay the elections.