Hong Kong’s Legislative Council delivers best-ever performance, passes record number of bills after opposition exodus, senior lawmaker says
- Lawmakers boast ‘shining report card’ over the past year, free from opposition’s disruptive tactics, House Committee chairman says
- Legco passes 39 bills, the most in a single year since Hong Kong’s 1997 return to Chinese sovereignty
Hong Kong’s legislature has delivered its best-ever performance and passed a record number of bills since the opposition camp resigned en masse nearly a year ago, according to the chairman of its powerful House Committee.
The pro-establishment heavyweight highlighted that Legco had passed 39 bills – the most in a single year since Hong Kong’s 1997 return to Chinese sovereignty – with another seven set to be endorsed by the end of next week.
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Among the flagship legislation approved in the past year was the Beijing-decreed overhaul of the city’s electoral system, and another law extending the requirements for formal oath-taking to district councillors.
Some of the draft laws awaiting a final vote before the end of the current session on October 30 include bills to ban e-cigarettes, impose rent controls on subdivided flats and relax rules on foreign doctors practising in Hong Kong.
Lee said: “Hong Kong has entered a new era of bringing order out of chaos. The executive and legislative relations have also got back on the right track. I hope the members of Legco’s next term will continue working together to monitor the government work and push for improvements.”
Lee was summing up the work of the House Committee during Legco’s extended term, which she characterised as a period of “no filibustering, no quorum calls as a delaying tactic, and no clashes in chamber” – references to the stunts formerly deployed by the opposition to block proceedings.