Hong Kong to begin Legislative Council nominations on October 24
Chief Secretary for Administration Eric Chan Kwok-ki said on Wednesday that the date was set after taking the election date of December 7 into consideration.
In a letter from Chan to Legco President Andrew Leung Kwan-yuen, the city's second-highest official said that the current Legislative Council would recess on October 24 'to prevent giving undue advantage to incumbent members over other candidates during the election period, or creating an impression to that effect.'
He added that the arrangement, which would be gazetted on Friday, was consistent with the procedure followed by the previous Legco.
The letter did not specify the duration of the nomination period. For the previous election in 2021, it lasted 14 days.
The legislature is currently on its final summer recess and will hold its first chamber meeting on September 3.
Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu is scheduled to deliver his fourth Policy Address to the lawmakers in September.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South China Morning Post
an hour ago
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong slams ‘smear campaigns' as Jimmy Lai returns to court for trial
The Hong Kong government has strongly condemned 'smear campaigns' by foreign forces and anti-China media companies in relation to the national security law trial of former newspaper boss Jimmy Lai Chee-ying, who returns to court on Thursday. Prosecutors and defence lawyers will make their final oral arguments in his high-profile trial . The closing submissions procedure will be the Apple Daily founder's last appearance at West Kowloon Court before the three presiding High Court judges reach a verdict on his case of conspiracies to publish seditious articles and collude with foreign forces. A government spokesman warned on the eve of the trial resuming that it was inappropriate for anyone to comment on details of the case in an 'attempt to interfere with the court to exercise judicial power independently, which might otherwise constitute perverting the course of justice'. However, external forces and anti-China media would 'still continue to distort the truth', he said. The spokesman noted that Lai's lawyers had previously clarified that the former media boss had received appropriate treatment and welfare in prison, while stressing the trial was based on the principle of the rule of law. Hong Kong law enforcement agencies had been taking actions strictly based on evidence, which had nothing to do with the political stance, background or occupation of the people or entities concerned, he added.
South China Morning Post
2 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong holds first meeting of new top-level anti-terrorism group
Hong Kong leader John Lee Ka-chiu has chaired the first meeting of a high-level counterterrorism group, later announcing that a large exercise to simulate terrorist attacks on critical infrastructure will be held this month. Advertisement The Chief Executive Counter-terrorism Steering Group discussed the progress of various groups under a new three-tier mechanism, global and local threats, and the directions and strategies of the government's counterterrorism work, a statement released after Wednesday's meeting said. 'As a metropolitan city, Hong Kong may also face threats under the global and local terrorism landscape,' Lee said. 'As such, we must further strengthen the [Hong Kong] government's overall counterterrorism work.' It was the first top-level meeting under the three-tier anti-terrorism mechanism introduced in last year's policy address to boost the city's defences against evolving global terrorism threats. Advertisement The city's No 2 official, Chief Secretary Eric Chan Kwok-ki, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po and Secretary for Justice Paul Lam Ting-kwok are deputy chairmen of the steering group. The top-tier group comprises ministers, department chiefs, heads of the disciplined services and national security officials.
South China Morning Post
3 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Beijing summons Japanese diplomat over ‘Taiwan and Chinese citizens' safety'
Beijing has summoned a senior Japanese diplomat to express concerns over issues such as Taiwan , according to China's foreign ministry. Advertisement On Wednesday, Liu Jinsong, director general of the Department of Asian Affairs, summoned the chief minister of Japan's embassy in Beijing Akira Yokochi to express 'grave concern on issues including history, Taiwan and the safety of Chinese citizens in Japan,' the ministry said, without providing further details. The summons came in the run-up to a series of commemorations to mark the end of World War II, commonly known in China as the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression. Japan's wartime atrocities are a long-standing cause of tension between the two countries, while relations have also suffered as a result of rising nationalism and the ongoing territorial dispute over the Diaoyu Islands, known in Japan as the Senkakus. Last month, the foreign ministry issued another protest after Taiwanese foreign minister Lin Chia-lung made a rare visit to Japan. Beijing described that as sending a 'seriously wrong signal' and 'providing a platform for his anti-China separatist activities.' Advertisement Beijing sees Taiwan as part of China that must be reunited with the mainland, by force if necessary. In common with most countries, Japan does not formally recognise Taiwan as an independent state.
