Hong Kong’s Legislative Council expected to approve government restructuring plan by end of June, lawmaker says

Plan to be submitted in mid-May, so that Legco could set up subcommittee and begin scrutiny of proposals, House Committee chairwoman Starry Lee reveals

Eric Chan, director of the Chief Executive’s Office, has said he hopes the proposals can be approved before end-June so the new cabinet can be formed sooner

Reading Time:3 minutes

The Hong Kong government headquarters in Admiralty. Photo: Nora Tam

Published: 7:14pm, 13 May 2022Updated: 7:54pm, 13 May 2022

A massive plan to restructure the Hong Kong government will be submitted to the Legislative Council soon and is expected to be approved by the end of June, a veteran lawmaker has said.

During a Legco House Committee session on Friday, chairwoman Starry Lee Wai-king said Eric Chan Kwok-ki, director of the Chief Executive’s Office, had mentioned the timeline in an earlier meeting with her.

“He said the current administration plans to submit to Legco in mid-May a resolution on the government’s restructuring. The relevant establishment and financial proposals will also be submitted to us,” Lee said. “He hoped that we could consider setting up a subcommittee, so that the scrutiny of the proposals can be started as soon as possible.”

House Committee chairwoman Starry Lee. Photo: Dickson Lee

The House Committee sets the agenda for the weekly meetings of the legislature, including when bills are put to a final vote.

Lee, who also heads the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong, said Chan hoped the proposals could be approved before the end of June, so that the cabinet of the new government could be formed sooner.

John Lee Ka-chiu, the city’s former No 2 official, secured 1,416 votes from the Election Committee in Sunday’s uncontested poll, giving him 99.2 per cent of the valid ballots cast.

The pro-Beijing Bauhinia Institute said on Thursday it had polled 1,000 people, 81.6 per cent of whom said they were satisfied with the election outcome.