The 50 candidates vying for the 40 seats on the Legislative Council’s Election Committee Constituency on Friday set out their policy platforms during a meeting in Wan Chai, highlighting deeper integration into national blueprints and new growth momentums.
The candidates, over half of whom are newcomers, come from various professional backgrounds including finance, engineering, medical, and education.
Each of the 50 hopefuls had two minutes to present their policy platform and their efforts in respective sectors, followed by a one-minute question and answer session with some members of the 1,500-seat Election Committee, a body responsible for nominating and returning 40 lawmakers as well as the chief executive.
Most candidates emphasized the importance for the Hong Kong SAR to actively integrate into overall national development. Some want to seek growth momentums from the low-altitude economy, and emerging markets such as the Middle East. Some candidates emphasized youth development and Chinese culture development.
Two candidates contesting the constituency of “HKSAR deputies to the National People’s Congress, HKSAR members of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, and representatives of relevant national organizations”, one of the LegCo’s 28 functional constituencies, also attended the event.
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Cheng Cheung-ling, chairperson of Hong Kong China Friendship Association — organizer of the meeting — expressed her hope of selecting suitable lawmakers under the “one country, two systems” principle. She also urged the public to vote on Dec 7 to jointly create a bright future for the SAR.
Apart from the 50 hopefuls eyeing a seat in the Election Committee constituency, 51 candidates will compete for the 20 seats returned by voters from across 10 geographical constituencies, and 60 will vie for the 30 seats in the 28 functional constituencies.
To help voters’ learn more about the 161 hopefuls, the HKSAR government will stage 39 election forums starting on Tuesday. Each forum will feature self-introductions, question-and-answer sessions, and debates on key topics.
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The forums for candidates running in Hong Kong Island East and Hong Kong Island West geographical constituencies will be held on Saturday, followed by one for Election Committee Constituency hopefuls on Sunday.
Chief Secretary for Administration Chan Kwok-ki said he hopes candidates can keep a positive atmosphere during the forums, instead of swearing at or scolding each other.
Secretary for the Civil Service Ingrid Yeung Ho Poi-yan said that subordinate departments will set up coordination and support centers on polling day to swiftly deploy personnel. She estimated that over 10,000 extra civil servants would be needed to work on the day to ensure a smooth election.
Yeung also said the government will allow on-duty public servants to take turns to leave their posts briefly for voting. Appropriate allowances and flexible work arrangements will be provided where applicable.
To view the complete list of LegCo election candidates, please go to:
https://www.elections.gov.hk/legco2025/pdf/ECC_e.pdf
Contact the writers at atlasshao@chinadailyhk.com
