[Explanation] In response to the severe situation of the Hong Kong epidemic and to protect the health of the public, the election of the seventh legislative council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region originally scheduled to be held in September this year will be postponed. Hong Kong’s largest political group-the chairman of the Hong Kong Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong (DAB) and a member of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Legislative Council, Li Huiqiong, said in an exclusive interview with China News Service that Hong Kong society is in dire straits and the Legislative Council will be the most important in the coming year. What is to do is to do practical things and hope that internal friction will not continue.
[Explanation] The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress recently passed the "Decision of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress on the Continued Performance of the Duties of the Sixth Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region." According to the "Decision", after September 30, 2020, the sixth legislative council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region will continue to perform its duties for no less than one year until the beginning of the term of the seventh legislative council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
[Concurrent] Li Huiqiong, Chairman of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong and Member of the Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
I think this approach will help society to focus on epidemic prevention and anti-epidemic work as soon as possible, and it will also allow the parliament to continue to perform its functions under the Basic Law, advise the government, and serve as a "bridge" between the administrative agency and the public. I think the most important thing this year is to really do some practical things to solve the difficulties faced by the people in dire straits. The first step must be to do a good job in epidemic prevention and anti-epidemic work, and then to restart the economy.
[Explanation] Li Huiqiong said that under the influence of the continuous social turmoil and the epidemic, the unemployment rate has been rising. Many companies are in the midst of life and death. Hong Kong is like "had a serious illness" and it is time to recover. She said frankly that if the Legislative Council continues to internalize, it will push Hong Kong into a more difficult situation. She hopes that the "speculators" who undermine Hong Kong and the Legislative Council will stop as soon as possible.
[Explanation] Affected by the deliberate delay of opposition legislators, the election of the chairman of the House Committee of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Legislative Council from 2019 to 2020 has been difficult, resulting in the suspension of the House Committee for more than half a year. Li Huiqiong pointed out that in the next election of the chairman of the internal committee of the Legislative Council, the establishment forces will adopt strategies to prevent the "rab" chaos from happening again.
[Concurrent] Li Huiqiong, Chairman of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong and Member of the Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
I believe that there are still some extreme radicals who will continue to turn the parliament into a platform for resistance, and they may continue to use means to delay the process of electing the chairman of the (internal committee), continue to "rab" and continue to do everything they can. Of course, we must have our strategies to deal with such extreme radical forces. Our establishment forces have all met to study. We believe that the (internal committee) election of the chairman will not continue to repeat the same mistakes. We are confident.
Reporter Li Waner and Chen Haonan from Hong Kong
Editor in charge: [Tao Guangxiong]