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Hong Kong politics
Hong KongPolitics

Hong Kong’s Legislative Council could face legal challenges if it bypasses House Committee election process: former president Andrew Wong

  • Wong warns that legislature could end up with two parallel committee meetings convened by rival camps
  • Former House Committee chairwoman Miriam Lau says incumbent can convene meetings before a new chair chosen

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Former Legislative Council president Andrew Wong warns that by convening a special meeting, the council could end up with two parallel meetings convened by rival camps. Photo: Sam Tsang
Alvin Lum

Hong Kong’s legislature could face legal challenges if it allows the pro-establishment bloc to bypass the election process in a key committee and proceed with other business, according to a former president.

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Andrew Wong Wang-fat, the Legislative Council’s president from 1995 to 1997 and an expert on the body’s rules and procedures, was speaking after pro-government heavyweight Starry Lee Wai-king announced the move to set aside the election of a chairman for the House Committee and clear a backlog of its work, citing legal advice obtained by the current Legco chief Andrew Leung Kwan-yuen.

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Since October, the House Committee – which scrutinises bills and decides when they are put to a final vote – has failed to elect a chair. Opposition lawmaker Dennis Kwok, previously its deputy chairman, has presided over the meetings, as incumbent Lee seeks re-election.

Kwok has been criticised by Beijing’s liaison office in Hong Kong and the pro-establishment camp for allowing his allies to filibuster.

Lee on Monday said the committee would hold an extra meeting four days later to clear a backlog of bills that had built up.

The new special meeting could … essentially put Legco’s internal business in courts
Andrew Wong, former Legco president

In an interview on Wednesday, Wong criticised Kwok for acting beyond his power to allow non-binding motions about Legco’s security arrangements. But he proposed that rather than holding a special meeting on Friday to break the impasse, Lee should withdraw herself from the running for chairwoman, propose that the committee defer the election process, and move on to other business.

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