Legislative Council election. Live | Zheng Ruohua: Existing candidates can declare campaign expenses　

Political situation

Written by: Di Ruimin, Luo Jiaqing, Peng Zhuowei, Lin Jian, Liu Jinhua, Qiu Qiqian, Zhen Yiheng, Huang Fengyi

2020-07-31 17:46

Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor will hold a press conference at 6 pm to personally announce that the Legislative Council elections originally scheduled for September 6 will be postponed for one year. The government believes that society must focus on fighting the epidemic at present, and is worried that elections will cause a large number of citizens to gather and increase the chance of infection, so it has made this decision.

The nomination period for the Legislative Council election ended today (31st). Yesterday (30th) 12 democratic candidates were disqualified from the election after receiving a letter from the Returning Officer. According to the news, the government will not issue any more DQ letters today, and the fate of the other democrats who have received the enquiry letter from the Returning Officer remains pending.

"Hong Kong 01" live broadcast of Lam Cheng's press conference.

[18:35] Lam Cheng stated that there is no suitable provision in the Legislative Council Ordinance to postpone the election for one year. Article 44 only allows her to postpone the election for 14 days, but it is not feasible under the current circumstances.

There are suggestions that she can announce that the seventh Legislative Council will start on October 1 next year and use Article 11 of the Legislative Council Ordinance to convene an emergency meeting, but she believes that this is not the original intent of the Ordinance and may be challenged by justice . And Chapter 599 of the Laws of Hong Kong may not apply.

Lam Cheng said that invoking the "Emergency Regulations Ordinance" is the only feasible solution. If the number of infections and deaths are currently on the rise, if the election continues, it will constitute a very serious public health crisis. A year's postponement can avoid violation of the Legislative Council. Cycle and election cycle.

Lam Cheng decided that the election day will be changed to September 5 next year. The election process will be suspended as the government gazettes today, but the Returning Officer still has follow-up work to do, including handling election expenses.

Lam Cheng stated that even if the "Emergency Regulations Ordinance" is invoked, there will still be a "vacuum period" in the Legislative Council session in the next year. Therefore, an emergency report has been submitted to the Central People's Government to seek support and instructions from the Central People's Government. They have replied, expressing their support for the decision of the Hong Kong government and the guild. As for the "vacuum period", the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress will be asked to make a decision in accordance with the law.

The risk of cross-infection by voting as scheduled is very high

[18:25] Regarding the rationale for postponing the general election of the Legislative Council, Lam Cheng raised four points. The first is that 3 million voters will vote at 615 voting stations on the day of the election, and there is not much space in the voting stations, with crowds gathering and crossing. Risk of infection. The second is the opinion of Feng Hua, Chairman of the EAC. Lam Cheng pointed out that since public health is a government decision, although the government has not discussed the postponement of the election with the EAC, Feng Hua also wrote a letter stating that it is impossible to implement a social distance of 1 meter under the high turnout rate. It is also difficult to arrange time to vote. In addition, it is quite difficult for the staff of the central counting station to keep their distance. In addition, the elderly are at higher risk of infection. It is recommended that the government consider whether to continue the election from the perspective of public health.

Thirdly, in the case that candidates are unable to conduct any canvassing activities, referring to the British EAC, the failure of candidates to win support from all citizens is one of the reasons for the postponement of the election. Fourth, voters at home and abroad are unable to vote. On the whole, it is difficult to meet the requirements of fairness and openness and to protect the safety of citizens and staff.

[18:15] Talking about the impact of the epidemic on the election, Lam Cheng said that the Legislative Council election is unique and is the largest election in Hong Kong, involving 4.4 million voters, 70 seats, 615 voting stations, and 3 4,000 personnel. In addition, a central counting station has been set up to create crowds and increase the risk of infection. Lam Cheng also mentioned that many registered voters live in the mainland for a long time and are willing to return to Hong Kong every time they voted in the past. However, some residents are still stranded overseas and in the mainland and cannot exercise their voting rights due to border restrictions. In addition, under the gathering restriction order, no more than two people can gather, which prevents the usual election activities.

Lin Zheng continued that there will be tens of thousands of staff at the central counting station, together with the media center. However, Yabo, which used to be a central counting station in the past, has been transformed into a community treatment center. It would be great to find another place in a short time. challenge. In addition, the elderly are at the greatest risk of infection during the epidemic, but 600,000 registered voters are over 71 years old. I believe they will not be willing to vote; and subject to current laws, Hong Kong cannot follow the practices of other countries and allow candidates to vote. Election campaigns, voting by day, overseas voting, electronic voting, and postal voting are arranged on TV.

With reference to overseas experience in postponing elections, Lam Zheng pointed out that at least 68 countries have postponed elections due to the epidemic, and 49 countries have held elections as scheduled. The epidemic has postponed elections in many countries and regions, such as holding elections on schedule. She also gave an example that Britain has also passed emergency bills to deal with postponing elections.

The Legislative Council election is postponed for one year, and the next term will also be postponed. (Photo by Luo Junhao)

Lam Cheng cited six reasons for postponing the election, including:

1. The Legislative Council election involves a large gathering of people;

2. A large number of Hong Kong people are in the Mainland. "Every time I vote, my friends are very happy to come back to vote." I believe many of them stay outside, including the Mainland;

3. Normal canvassing activities are restricted;

4. It is not possible to set up a central counting center in AsiaWorld-Expo, and it will not be possible to find another location in the short term;

5. A large number of elderly people are at risk of infection and are unwilling to vote;

6. Technical difficulties, such as not allowing voting on separate days, and currently there is no electronic voting.

[18:10] Carrie Lam said that after a comprehensive assessment, the current Hong Kong epidemic is the most severe since January. The risk of a major outbreak is increasing day by day, and the number of virus tests needs to be increased. She is sorry that some infected people have not been admitted to the hospital. Arrange for them to be admitted to the hospital as soon as possible, and believe that the epidemic has now constituted a major crisis for the people of Hong Kong.

Lin Zheng stated that he had not discussed with Feng Hua, chairman of the EAC, whether to postpone the election, but Feng Hua took the initiative to write to her, raising the public health risks of holding the election as scheduled.

[18:05] Carrie Lam said that how severe the epidemic is now, if the public has watched the press conference of the Department of Health, they will know that there have been 17 million infections worldwide, including 600,000 deaths. If the government’s policy changes slightly Slack, the number of epidemic cases will rise, because there is currently no way to completely solve the virus.

Lam Cheng said that in addition to reducing the cross-border flow of people, the government has also restricted the social distance of citizens and strengthened virus testing, hoping to find the source of the virus as soon as possible.

She also mentioned that the government has made great efforts to reduce the flow of cross-border people. The number of people entering the country from 325,000 in January has fallen to 2016 as of yesterday.

However, since July 8th, the epidemic has developed into an extremely severe state. From July 8th to 30th, there were 1,852 newly confirmed cases. Yesterday, a single-day high of 149 cases was recorded, and many of them were of unknown origin. .

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Lam Cheng announced the adjournment of elections

[18:00] When everyone entered the venue, Chief Executive Carrie Lam first spoke, saying that the fight against the epidemic since July has caused a great blow to the people's livelihood and economy. The SAR government dare not relax. Even if the epidemic is stable for a while, it has never taken it lightly. Lin Zheng continued to insist that he has always adhered to three principles: one) be prepared at all times, two) be responsive when changes occur, and three) be open and transparent.

Lam Cheng also quoted WHO Director-General Tedros Tedros, saying that facing a severe epidemic, one of the most basic elements to prevent the spread of the virus is determination and a willingness to make difficult choices.

Lin Zheng immediately announced the postponement of the election, saying that the relevant decision was the most difficult one in the seven months since the fight against the epidemic. Lin Zheng said that he would use the "Emergency Law" as the legal basis, and said that this decision was supported by the central government.

[17:45] Chief Executive Carrie Lam, Secretary for Justice Cheng Ruohua, Secretary for Food and Health, Chen Shi, Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Zeng Guowei, and Permanent Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Tang Renguang attended the press conference.

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