Members of the House Committee of the Legislative Council meet to elect a chairperson on April 17, 2020. It is the 15th meeting held by the committee to elect a chairperson. (PARKER ZHENG/CHINA DAILY)
HONG KONG - The House Committee of the Legislative Council, or LegCo, again failed to elect a chairperson on Friday in its 15th meeting, which lasted for 40 minutes, to the consternation of the council’s president and pro-establishment legislators.
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In a statement issued after the meeting, LegCo President Andrew Leung Kwan-yuen expressed deep disappointment and regret that a chairperson was still not elected after 15 meetings of the House Committee.
The situation is far from satisfactory, falling short of public expectations,
Andrew Leung, LegCo president
Noting that the House Committee has failed to elect a chairperson after half a year, Leung said the holdup has severely impeded the operation of the legislature and the proper exercise of its constitutional functions under the Basic Law.
“The situation is far from satisfactory, falling short of public expectations,” Leung said in the statement.
He noted that Hong Kong is facing unprecedented challenges and economic hardships, and there are only three months to go before the prorogation of the LegCo.
All bills will lapse at the end of this term, resulting in a serious wastage of public resources, Leung stressed.
He appealed to all lawmakers to put aside their differences, act in the best interest of the community, fulfill their constitutional duties and work out a solution sensibly to enable the effective functioning of LegCo.
Several legislators of the pro-establishment camp criticized Dennis Kwok Wing-hang, who chaired the election meetings, for paralyzing the operation of LegCo by filibustering and thwarting the procedure.
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Legislator and convener of the pro-establishment camp Martin Liao Cheung-kong stressed that the situation is "extremely abnormal" in that a malfunctioning House Committee has effectively blocked LegCo from fulfilling its legislative obligations stipulated by the Basic Law.
Lawmaker and member of the Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions Michael Luk Chung-hung, urged Kwok and the opposition camp to stop paralyzing LegCo and the city and allow the process of electing the House Committee chairperson to proceed without hindrance.
An important function of the House Committee, which consists of all lawmakers, except for the president, is to scrutinize bills and subsidiary legislations tabled at Council meetings for approval.
Failure to elect the chairperson has resulted in the hold up of 14 bills and the expiration of 89 subsidiary legislations. These proposed bills address issues relating to various social and economic sectors, including hotel, insurance, taxation, public affairs, and intellectual property rights.
