HK NPC Deputies Electoral Conference Concludes First Session

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Saturday, November 02, 2002

HK NPC Deputies Electoral Conference Concludes First Session

The Conference for Electing Deputies of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) to the 10th National People's Congress (NPC) of China met here for its first session Friday morning.

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The Conference for Electing Deputies of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) to the 10th National People's Congress (NPC) of China met here for its first session Friday morning.

Secretary-General of the NPC Standing Committee He Chunlin chaired the morning session of the electoral conference, with 759 members taking part at the International Trademart.

In December 1997, the NPC official recalled, 36 Hong Kong deputies were chosen to represent Hong Kong at the ninth NPC, whose term will expire in March next year.

According to He, the first session of the electoral conference signified the official beginning of the election of the Hong Kong deputies to the 10th NPC, which is of great importance and has far-reaching impact.

"Five years after Hong Kong's return to the motherland, the principles of 'One Country, Two Systems,' Hong Kong people governing Hong Kong and a high degree of autonomy as well as the Basic Law have been fully implemented," He Chunlin said.

Despite the outbreak of the Asian financial crisis shortly after the 1997 handover, "the HKSAR government, with the support of the Chinese central government, has successfully united people from all walks of life in the SAR in overcoming various difficulties and resolving a series of social and economic issues,thereby maintaining Hong Kong's stability and prosperity."

Speaking of the country as a whole, He Chunlin pointed out thatChina is enjoying political stability, economic growth, ethnic unity and social development.

Against this background, the election of the HKSAR deputies to the 10th NPC is of special and profound significance, He emphasized.

"The election will be held in strict accordance with the Constitution of the People's Republic of China, the Basic Law of the HKSAR and the methods for electing deputies of the HKSAR to the 10th NPC," He stressed.

Moreover, the election will proceed by giving full play to democracy, and in an open, fair and just manner, the secretary-general noted.

According to He Chunlin, the election is designed to elect Chinese citizens in the HKSAR, who love both Hong Kong and the country, adhere to the principle of "One Country, Two Systems" andabide by the Basic Law, as NPC deputies to represent the HKSAR to partake in the work of China's top organ of state power.

He pointed out that the HK deputies to the NPC, as members of China's top legislative body, are empowered to participate in state affairs in accordance with the Constitution and relevant laws, and to exercise the corresponding powers prescribed in the Basic Law.

In line with the principle of non-interference in the affairs of the SAR government and matters within the framework of high degree of autonomy of the SAR, the HKSAR deputies to be elected, together with people from all walks of life in the SAR, shoulder the responsibility of supporting Chief Executive Tung Chee Hwa andhis government in their efforts to govern the region according to law so as to maintain Hong Kong's long-term stability and prosperity, He said.

He Chunlin stressed that to successfully conduct HK's NPC deputy election will help enhance the sense of the country and of the nation among the Hong Kong residents of Chinese citizenship, and maintain the long-term prosperity and stability of the HKSAR.

The secretary general said he believed that members of the electoral conference will live up to the expectations of the public and fulfill their task of electing Hong Kong deputies to the 10th NPC.

Following He's speech, the electoral conference voted in favor of the 15 presidium members proposed by the meeting of the chairmen of the NPC Standing Committee.

Of the 759 members of the conference, 744 voted for and one voted against the composition of the presidium, with 14 abstentions.

The 15 members of the presidium are: Ma Lin, Chung Shih-ping, Lee Tung-Hai, Lee Cho-jat, Li Ka-shing, Yu Kwok-chun, Alice Cheng,Cha Chi-ming, Chung Sze-Yuen, Tsui Sze-man, Leung Chun-ying, Tung Chee-hwa, Andrew Liao Cheung-sing, Tam Yiu-chung and Henry Fok Ying-tung.

The presidium, which will preside over the future meetings of the electoral conference, then held its first meeting, during which HKSAR Chief Executive Tung Chee Hwa was elected executive chairman of the presidium and Lee Cho-jat, the spokesman.

Speaking at the press briefing after the first session of the presidium, Lee announced that nominations for the election of HK deputies to the 10th NPC will be accepted between Nov. 4 to 18.

The spokesman also made clear that Hong Kong residents of Chinese citizenship aged 18 or above are eligible to contest for the candidacy of the NPC deputies. They need to obtain at least 10nominations from the total 953 members of the electoral conferencefor their registrations to be effective.

According to Lee, the maximum number of the nominees can exceedthe quota of 36 deputies by 50 percent. Should nominees turn out to be more than that, a preliminary round of election will be heldon Nov. 29 to meet the requirement, and the official round of election is scheduled on Dec. 3.

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