Annual Report 2022

Hon Andrew LEUNG Kwan-yuen, President of the Legislative Council

The Seventh Legislative Council (“LegCo”) is the first LegCo formed after the improvement of the electoral system of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (“HKSAR”). It carries far-reaching implications and marks the beginning of a new journey for the Hong Kong Legislature. Alongside changes in its size and composition, the current-term LegCo also firmly upholds the principle of “patriots administering Hong Kong”. Its mission is to lead Hong Kong towards prosperity and stability, enabling the successful implementation of “one country, two systems”.

In this inaugural year of the Seventh LegCo, Members have established a positive and healthy relationship with the Executive Authorities. Members and officials engaged in rational discussions, and worked together to formulate policy initiatives that safeguard the best interest of Hong Kong. With concerted effort, we helped the community tide over the difficulties arising from the epidemic, and make steady progress for recovery.

Unlike most of the time in the last LegCo term, filibustering and other acts that deliberately impeded the Government’s governance have disappeared in this term. While views of Members and officials on certain issues may differ, they have engaged in constructive discussion, endeavoring to forge a consensus for the well-being of the people and the better development of Hong Kong.

As the President of LegCo, I am pleased with Members’ performance in the past year. They worked diligently and pragmatically for Hong Kong people. The Executive Authorities and the Legislature complemented each other and operated with proper checks and balances. This year’s experience also proved that a positive and interactive relation between the two parties is a key element in promoting good governance and development in Hong Kong, which I believe the public has been longing for.

The Seventh LegCo faced the daunting challenge of the COVID-19 epidemic at the commencement of its term. However, as the Legislature of the HKSAR, it was necessary for LegCo to continue its operations and perform its constitutional functions amid the epidemic. Within three weeks after its term had commenced, LegCo already formulated and passed two resolutions to enable the Council and its committees to meet remotely within a specified period in light of the development of the epidemic. This allowed LegCo to continue discharging its constitutional duties while fulfilling the requirement for social distancing.

From mid-February to early April 2022, seven LegCo meetings were held remotely, including the Council meeting from 16 to 18 February 2022, during which Members debated the 2021 Policy Address through videoconferencing. The Council meeting of 23 February 2022, at which the Financial Secretary presented the Budget, which was of great public concern, was also held via videoconferencing. Because of the epidemic, a number of committees held virtual meetings to follow up on the prevention and control of COVID-19 as well as other economic and livelihood issues. The overall operation of LegCo never ceased even under the epidemic. Following the gradual stabilization of the epidemic from late April 2022, LegCo and its committees resumed physical meetings progressively.

During the 2022 session, LegCo conducted a total of 33 meetings and dealt with a number of agenda items efficiently. Members scrutinized and passed bills in a timely manner.

Seventeen out of 25 bills introduced by the Administration were passed by LegCo during the session. Many of the bills aimed to render assistance to those in need under the epidemic, including the Employment (Amendment) Bill 2022, which sought to better safeguard the employment rights and benefits of employees who were absent from work for compliance with anti-epidemic requirements, and the Temporary Protection Measures for Business Tenants (COVID-19 Pandemic) Bill, which aimed to implement a rental enforcement moratorium to help businesses during the epidemic.

One of the important bills passed by LegCo this year included the Appropriation Bill 2022, which set out the Government’s expenditure proposals for the 2022-2023 financial year. Meanwhile, after rounds of negotiation between employers and employees, the Employment and Retirement Schemes Legislation (Offsetting Arrangement) (Amendment) Bill 2022, which aimed to abolish the Mandatory Provident Fund “offsetting” arrangement and enhance the protection of employees’ rights and benefits, was also passed. LegCo also passed the International Organizations (Privileges and Immunities) (Amendment) Bill 2022, which sought to dovetail with the national policy by implementing an arrangement for the establishment of the Preparatory Office of the International Organization for Mediation in Hong Kong. Another bill passed in this year was the Copyright (Amendment) Bill 2022, which sought to update Hong Kong’s copyright regime and strengthen copyright protection in the digital environment. This bill had been introduced twice before (in 2011 and 2014), but the legislative process was hindered by some Members’ filibustering. It was eventually passed by the current-term LegCo.

In addition, LegCo dealt with 188 items of subsidiary legislation subject to “negative vetting” or “positive vetting” procedure. LegCo also passed a resolution moved by the Government under the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance to transfer the statutory functions exercisable by relevant public officers for reorganizing the Government’s structure, so that the sixth-term Government could function under the new government structure when it took office on 1 July 2022. Following the reorganization of the Government’s structure, Committee on Rules of Procedure (“CRoP”) reviewed the transfers of policy responsibilities among government bureaux. After the review, CRoP recommended that the scope of work of Panels be rationalized, and two Panels be renamed to better reflect their terms of reference. After the passage of the relevant proposed resolution by LegCo, CRoP’s recommendations came into effect this session.

LegCo has been keeping its finger on the pulse of the community. In this session, Members raised 1 162 questions seeking oral or written replies from the Government covering a wide range of issues of public concern.

During the session, LegCo debated a total of 33 Members’ motions not intended to have legislative effect, including a motion on “Embracing the spirit of the 20th National Congress to further develop Hong Kong”. The motion was moved in a timely manner in response to the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (“the 20th National Congress”) and the report to the 20th National Congress, which maps out the country’s major policy directions and blueprint and also provides guidance for Hong Kong’s further integration into national development. During the seven-hour debate, more than 80 Members offered valuable insights into how Hong Kong could develop and fully leverage the unique advantages of “one country, two systems”.

After President XI Jinping delivered an important speech on 1 July 2022 on the 25th anniversary of Hong Kong’s return to the motherland, LegCo held a motion debate on “The implementation of the address made by President XI Jinping on 1 July for opening a new chapter of good governance” under Rule 16(2) of the Rules of Procedure. The debate was held to advise the HKSAR Government on ways to implement the “four musts” and “four proposals” put forward by President XI out of his concern for Hong Kong people.

During the session, the Finance Committee (“FC”) was able to scrutinize and approve the Government’s public expenditure proposals effectively without prolonged meetings and frequent filibustering. FC held a total of 29 meetings, 13 of which were conducted online due to the COVID-19 epidemic. The total number of meeting hours stood at around 67 hours.

The financial proposals approved by FC involved a total commitment of about $177.5 billion, including 37 public works projects and 33 non-works proposals. The major financial proposals approved by FC included the injection of $27 billion and $43 billion into the Anti-epidemic Fund for the implementation of the sixth round of relief measures and the 2022 Employment Support Scheme respectively. FC also approved the redevelopment projects of Prince of Wales Hospital, Grantham Hospital, and Our Lady of Maryknoll Hospital, as well as the establishment changes arising from the reorganization of the structure of the sixth-term Government of HKSAR.

Since this session, FC put in place a new set of procedures to deal with items endorsed by the Establishment Subcommittee and the Public Works Subcommittee. The new procedures aim at reducing repetitive discussions on staffing proposals and public works items that are relatively straightforward and non-controversial, allowing FC to focus its discussions on more important and complex items, or those incurring more public funds and arousing more public concerns.

With the improvement of the electoral system, the number of Members in the current-term LegCo has increased from 70 to 90, comprising Members returned by the Election Committee, functional constituencies, and geographical constituencies through direct elections. About two-thirds of LegCo Members are new faces from different sectors and social strata, with diversified professional backgrounds, fully reflecting balanced participation and broad representation.

After the establishment of the new-term Government on 1 July 2022, five LegCo Members joined the Government to continue serving the public in different positions. On 18 December, a LegCo Election Committee Constituency By-election was held to fill four vacancies in LegCo membership. The newly-elected Members immediately fitted into their roles, contributing to the efficient operation of the Legislature, promoting Hong Kong’s economic development, and improving people's livelihood.

To make better use of the Council’s time, the last-term LegCo passed amendments to the Rules of Procedure. These amendments, which came into effect in the current term, changed the membership size of LegCo committees as well as Members’ speaking time at Council meetings. They strike a good balance between the Council's efficient operation and Members’ rights to perform their constitutional functions. The changes allow Members of different backgrounds to have better division of work, enabling more focused and in-depth discussions on issues of public concern.

The relationship between the Executive Authorities and the Legislature reached a new stage in this session, as we steered back to a rational and pragmatic track. I would like to thank the former Chief Executive (“CE”), Mrs Carrie LAM CHENG Yuet-ngor, and the incumbent Chief Executive, Mr John LEE Ka-chiu, for placing importance to their communication with LegCo Members during their terms of office. In this session, they attended a total of five CE’s Question and Answer Sessions to respond to Members’ questions directly. The new initiative by the incumbent CE of holding Ante-Chamber Exchange Sessions on a regular basis was a highlight in fostering the relationship between the Executive Authorities and the Legislature.

The Ante-Chamber, one of the essential facilities in the LegCo Complex, was revitalized with the contribution of students from the Hong Kong Design Institute. Following the enhancement work, it has become an ideal “meeting place” for Members and officials to exchange dialogues in a relaxing ambience in the course of formulation of more “down-to-earth” policies. The incumbent CE led by example by attending the first ever Ante-Chamber Exchange Session in mid-July 2022, along with three Secretaries of Departments and other Principal Officials, and engaging in frank discussions with Members. A total of five such Exchange Sessions were held this year, during which Members actively put forward their suggestions on different issues, some of which were adopted and expeditiously implemented by the Government, reflecting the effectiveness of the Exchange Sessions.

Starting from this LegCo term, a session runs from January to December of the same year instead of starting in October as in the past. While LegCo meetings were not held in summer, Members continued their efforts in reaching out to the public and carrying out LegCo-related work.

During the summer months in the 2022 session, many Panels continued to meet as needed to discuss issues of public concern, such as measures to fight the epidemic and review of public housing rental rates, etc. The Bills Committees on the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing (Amendment) Bill 2022 and the Copyright (Amendment) Bill 2022 continued their scrutiny work throughout the summer. In addition, Members needed to continue handling public complaints about government policies under the LegCo Redress System (including attending meetings with deputations and case conferences) during the summer months.

Members also made good use of the summer months to discharge their duties in various ways, including participating in visits and seeking opportunities to meet with members of the public and representatives from different sectors and organizations. This enabled Members to gauge public opinions and gain a better understanding of the needs of the community. As stated by CE, the Policy Address delivered in October 2022 incorporated the views of quite a few LegCo Members, who effectively conveyed the views and concerns of the public to the Government.

The smooth operation of the Seventh LegCo is also attributable to the Secretariat’s comprehensive and professional service to the Council. The advice offered by the Secretariat to Members was lawful, reasonable and impartial. Apart from being engaged in Council business, the Secretariat has also been actively pursuing the LegCo Complex expansion project, which commenced in 2022. This project seeks to fulfil the demand for additional office space for Members and meeting venues. This is a particularly challenging project as the expansion works need to be carried out round the clock at the LegCo Complex without affecting the Council’s daily operation. I would like to express my appreciation to the Secretariat for working closely with relevant government departments to minimize the impact on Council’s operations during the construction period.

As we enter 2023, Hong Kong is at a critical moment in its post-epidemic recovery. LegCo Members will continue to work tirelessly to speak out for the people and bring the voices of different sectors and strata into the Legislature and the Executive Authorities. As Members of the Legislature, we always aim to take people's priorities as ours and act on their wishes.

President XI has repeatedly expressed his care for Hong Kong. He has stressed that “one country, two systems” is the best institutional arrangement for ensuring sustainable prosperity and stability of HKSAR, and that this policy must be adhered to in the long term. With Hong Kong’s unique advantage of being able to leverage on our special relationship with the Mainland while engaging the world at large, Hong Kong should seize each opportunity to capitalize on its strengths. Under the executive-led system, LegCo will continue to complement with the HKSAR Government, with proper check and balance to ensure the HKSAR Government to operate according to the law. LegCo should also unite with the Government to help Hong Kong integrate into national development, and ensure the steadfast and successful implementation of “one country, two systems”. Together, we will be able to build a harmonious and stable Hong Kong, and create a better home for our people!

Hon Andrew LEUNG Kwan-yuen, GBM, GBS, JP
President
Legislative Council