As it happened: angry Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam rejects universal Covid-19 testing calls, hits back after Cathay grilling
- Lawmakers gather for opening session of Legco term, but several are in quarantine or have been urged to stay away after attending Wan Chai birthday bash
- Lam outlines her ideas for restructuring the government and updates lawmakers on Northern Metropolis plans
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Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor on Wednesday opened the inaugural session of the first “patriots-only” Legislative Council returned under Beijing’s electoral overhaul.
Apart from taking questions from the new lawmakers, Lam outlined her ideas for restructuring the government, as well as giving an update on her plan to develop a Northern Metropolis along the border with Shenzhen.
But not all 90 Legco members made it to the first session. At least four lawmakers are undergoing 21 days’ quarantine at the Penny’s Bay centre after attending a birthday party that exposed them to two guests who were later found to be infected with Covid-19.
Legco president Andrew Leung Kwan-yuen earlier urged another 16 lawmakers who joined the party for Witman Hung Wai-man, a local deputy to the national legislature, to stay at home after they were exempted from quarantine because they had left the venue before the patients arrived.
Follow live coverage of the event here.
Reporting by Chris Lau, Natalie Wong, Jeffie Lam, Tony Cheung, Joyce Ng, Gary Cheung and Ng Kang-chung
