As the results of the 8th Legislative Council election of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) were announced on the 8th, the second Legislative Council election since Hong Kong improved its electoral system was successfully completed. On the 9th, several Hong Kong policy experts told China News Service in interviews that this election is another successful practice of Hong Kong’s new electoral system and another important achievement in developing high-quality democracy in line with Hong Kong’s actual conditions.
In the view of Lau Siu-kai, consultant of the National Association of Hong Kong and Macao Studies, this election demonstrated a “gentlemen’s contest” featuring mutual respect and encouragement. Many new faces emerged among the successfully elected lawmakers, reflecting the continuous expansion of the talent pool of patriots who love Hong Kong and the increasingly solid mass foundation of patriotic forces in Hong Kong. The new batch of lawmakers also tends to be younger, more professional and diversified. He believes that these developments highlight the gratifying progress made in the principle of “patriots administering Hong Kong” over the past four years and have made the Legislative Council election more representative.
Fang Zhou, research director of the One Country Two Systems Research Institute in Hong Kong, holds that this election is another successful practice of Hong Kong’s new electoral system and another important achievement in advancing high-quality democracy suited to Hong Kong’s realities. It not only ensures the implementation of “patriots administering Hong Kong” but also fully absorbs elites from all sectors, embodying the principle of full and balanced participation.
This Legislative Council election was successfully held in the difficult period shortly after the fire at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po. Chan Wing-hoi, professor at the Faculty of Law of the University of Hong Kong, noted that despite the somber social atmosphere caused by the fire and the low-key election publicity, the voter turnout in all three sectors of this Legislative Council election exceeded that of the previous term. This is sufficient proof that Hong Kong citizens are still willing to participate in democratic politics through elections and elect legislators capable of serving Hong Kong with their votes.
Lau Siu-kai specifically mentioned the increase in the voter turnout of the geographical constituency direct elections, believing it has multiple political implications: First, it indicates that the new electoral system has gained growing recognition and support from the broad masses of Hong Kong citizens; second, it reflects that the positive interaction between the executive authorities and the legislative authorities in recent years has been recognized by the public; third, it means that the central government’s care and support for Hong Kong over the years, especially when Hong Kong was in difficulties, has received a positive response from the public; fourth, it marks that the new political landscape of Hong Kong reshaped by the central government has gained increasing acceptance and favor in society.
At the same time, the newly elected lawmakers have demonstrated their responsibility to listen to public opinion and respond to people’s demands. Fong Kwok-shan, who was elected with a high vote in her sixth bid for the Legislative Council and became the “top vote-getter” in the geographical constituency direct elections, said that the top priority is to assist in disaster relief and post-disaster reconstruction and help the victims of the Wang Fuk Court fire rebuild their homes.
Fang Zhou agrees that expediting post-disaster resettlement and reconstruction work, as well as cooperating with the HKSAR government to carry out innovative reforms of relevant systems, will be one of the top priorities of the new Legislative Council. In terms of “boosting the economy, pursuing development, and improving people’s livelihood”, the Legislative Council will also play an important role.
Lau Siu-kai also believes that Hong Kong is standing at a critical juncture of moving from “governance to prosperity”. Facing new situations, new opportunities and new challenges, the new Legislative Council will play an unprecedentedly important role in Hong Kong’s new round of development. He pointed out that “development” is the key to solving most of Hong Kong’s social problems, and specific “starting points” include accelerating the development of the Northern Metropolis, fully and deeply participating in the construction of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, actively aligning with the Hong Kong and Macao chapters of the 15th Five-Year Plan, and seizing the major opportunities brought by national development.
Chan Wing-hoi is full of confidence in the new Legislative Council members. Among them are elites who can help Hong Kong accelerate its integration into the national development overall situation, talents familiar with new productive forces who can promote Hong Kong’s industrial transformation and upgrading, and community workers who can connect with the public and understand Hong Kong’s social issues. Chan Wing-hoi expects them to give full play to their respective strengths, making the policies of the HKSAR government more “down-to-earth” and better able to care for the needs of Hong Kong citizens.
