Hong Kong, July 7 (ZXS) -- The Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region unanimously passed the District Councils (Amendment) Bill 6 (the Bill) on July 6. The Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, John Lee Ka-chiu, welcomed this and said that this is an important milestone in the improvement of regional governance in the HKSAR.
On the 5th, the Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region resumed the debate on the second reading of the bill, and dozens of Legislative Council members spoke to express support; On the morning of the 6th, the Legislative Council continued to deliberate on the bill, and finally passed the bill on third reading with 88 votes in favor, 0 against and 0 abstentions.
After the amendment, District Councils will consist of Appointments, District Council constituencies, District Council Local Constituencies and Ex-officio members, with approximately 40%, 40% and 20% of the members of District Council constituencies respectively, plus 27 ex officio members. The new plan also introduces a qualification mechanism to ensure that all election candidates, appointed and ex officio members uphold the Basic Law and pledge allegiance to the HKSAR.
Lee said in a press release that he and his team were encouraged by the unanimous vote of the Legislative Council to pass the bill. The careful consideration of the Bill by the Legislative Council fully demonstrates the efficiency and professionalism of the Legislative Council resulting from the improvement of the electoral system, as well as the goal of the executive and legislature to jointly build Hong Kong.
Mr Lee said that Hong Kong is now in a new stage of governance and prosperity. This amendment implements the principle of "patriots administering Hong Kong" at the level of regional governance in the SAR, so that the District Councils are firmly in the hands of patriots. The HKSAR Government will continue to make every effort to implement the work on improving regional governance, effectively solve problems for the general public, and enable them to achieve a greater sense of happiness and gain.
Chief Secretary for Administration of the HKSAR Government, Chan Kwok-kee, told the media after the passage of the Bill that the amendment provides a solid legal and institutional foundation for reshaping District Councils. The HKSAR Government aims to bring the SAR District Councils back to Article 1 of the Hong Kong Basic Law on 1 January next year, opening a new chapter in district governance for the people.
It is reported that the District Councils (Amendment) Ordinance 2023 will be gazetted and come into effect on 7 July. (End)