Hong Kong to have brighter future with improved electoral system: former HKSAR gov't official

HONG KONG -- Improving Hong Kong's electoral system is imperative and holds solid legal ground, former Secretary for Justice of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government Elsie Leung said Tuesday, stressing that Hong Kong will embrace an even brighter future with the improved electoral system.

Leung made the remarks as a draft decision on improving the electoral system of the HKSAR has been submitted to the National People's Congress for deliberation at the top legislature's annual session.

The implementation of "one country, two systems" has been steady in Hong Kong with the support of the central authorities but new methods are required to address problems emerging in recent years, including the social unrest in 2019, she said.

Hong Kong has resumed stability thanks to the actions of the central authorities, but if anti-China disruptors plunge Hong Kong into chaos again after the COVID-19 epidemic is controlled, the impact will be intolerable, Leung said.

Necessary measures must be taken to improve the electoral system and ensure "patriots administering Hong Kong" so that the power to administer the HKSAR will not fall into the hands of anti-China disruptors, and local instigators of unrest colluding with external forces will be prevented from endangering national security and doing harm to Hong Kong residents, she said.

The legal basis of the draft decision of the NPC is solid, Leung said, adding that it is within the purview of the central authorities to form a new democratic system suited to Hong Kong's realities, including the selection of the HKSAR chief executive and the formation of the Legislative Council, in an orderly and step-by-step manner.

Leung said the NPC can make the decision to address issues related to Hong Kong's electoral system when necessary, she said.

"'Patriots administering Hong Kong' is not only a slogan and its implementation needs legal guarantee," Leung said.

After the electoral system is improved, more patriotic and capable people can enter the power structure of the HKSAR and make joint efforts to develop Hong Kong, she said, stressing that Hong Kong will then have an even brighter future.