‘I will answer any questions’, says new Hong Kong leader John Lee amid criticism of call for queries on specific policy areas in Legco session
- New chief executive says he was only replying to questions from Legco secretariat on whether discussion should be focused on particular areas
- Legco president Andrew Leung earlier defended request, dismissing criticism it would ‘belittle’ council as lawmakers could still ask the questions they wanted
Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu has pledged to answer any queries from lawmakers at his first question and answer session on Wednesday amid criticism of an unprecedented call that suggested lawmakers stick to specific policy areas.
Lee’s suggestion for lawmakers to keep discussions to seven areas, including the government’s follow-up action on a speech by President Xi Jinping in Hong Kong last week, housing supply and anti-epidemic measures, had drawn criticism that it would belittle the institution.
“I will answer any questions from all legislative councillors,” Lee said on Tuesday as he attended a gala hosted by the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong.
Lee said he believed Xi’s remarks were important, which was why he suggested that this could be an area of discussion in his response to the secretariat.
The Administration Wing, in a letter on Monday, suggested Lee had hoped lawmakers would keep discussions to seven areas.
Earlier on Tuesday, Legco president Andrew Leung Kwan-yuen defended Lee’s move, saying while previous chief executives had not made a similar call before, it was a normal practice for the council to check with the leader on the areas he would like to focus on and that lawmakers would still be allowed to ask him any questions they wanted during the 90-minute session.
“That is nothing special and nothing out of the ordinary,” Leung said, adding the call was allowed under Legco’s house rules.