‘More changes to election system may be on the cards’

Hong Kong’s member of the National People’s Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC), Tam Yiu-chung, says the work report of a top Beijing official suggests the central government could be planning a further revamp of the SAR’s electoral system.

The chairman of the NPCSC, Li Zhanshu, unveiled his annual work report on Tuesday.

In a section of the report related to Hong Kong, Li mentions a need to perfect the system under which Beijing exercises its comprehensive jurisdiction over the city, implements the SAR’s national security law, and makes improvements to the electoral system.

When asked whether the report suggests that Beijing will impose more changes to Hong Kong’s electoral arrangements, including for district council polls, Tam said he believes Beijing may be looking into something. He added that the NPCSC will enact new laws if needed.

“These plans are part of our annual work plans. But there’s no mention of any concrete details… I believe maybe something is still being studied. If the NPCSC needs to enact laws, we’ll do it,” Tam said.

“These are matters relating to the central government, because we’re talking about comprehensive jurisdiction and the implementation of national security laws. These are matters for the central government to decide,” he added.

“We do not have concrete information about these work plans. So I cannot tell you the details now. I do not want to speculate.”

Meanwhile, Lau Siu-kai – a vice-president of the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macau Studies – said he believes the central government will strengthen its supervision of Hong Kong’s executive bodies, make changes to the electoral arrangements for district organisations, and push forward the enactment of national security legislation under Article 23 of the Basic Law.

He also predicted that Beijing will “normalise” the practice of the NPCSC issuing interpretations of the Basic Law.

When asked which of these initiatives would take priority, Lau said he believes the central government will make sure that the SAR authorities can govern better and can work with Beijing closely on important issues.