Hong Kong plans to add Hetao cooperation zone to New Territories constituency
Hong Kong electoral authorities have planned to include the Hetao cooperation zone, a new innovation hub near the border, in an existing constituency in the New Territories for the coming legislative election, despite no one living there.
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The Electoral Affairs Commission (EAC) revealed on Friday its proposal to integrate the Hetao area, which is located on both sides of the Shenzhen River and co-developed with mainland Chinese authorities, into Hong Kong's electoral map.
The announcement is about seven months ahead of Hong Kong's eighth-term Legislative Council, which is scheduled for December 7.
Although the current population projection for the Hetao cooperation zone as of mid-2025 is zero, the commission proposed to include the area to tie in with its development, the consultation paper read.
'[We] are seeing substantial development in the loop and the first three buildings of the loop district will become functional soon … the EAC will see that it will be an appropriate moment to include the loop in the present exercise,' Justice David Lok Kai-hong, chairman of the electoral body, said.
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'We see that the timing is right.'
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