HK security chief vows to ensure smooth EC election Sunday

Hong Kong Secretary for Security Chris Tang Ping-keung said on Tuesday the Security Bureau and all disciplined forces will strive to ensure the first election held under the revamped electoral system is conducted smoothly and orderly.

Scheduled for Sunday, the 2021 Hong Kong Election Committee's subsector ordinary elections is the first key election held in accordance with the Improving Electoral System (Consolidated Amendments) Ordinance 2021, which took effect on May 31 in a bid to foster effective administration of Hong Kong.

Under the electoral overhaul, the Election Committee, which expanded from 1,200 members to 1,500, is responsible for nominating candidates for Hong Kong chief executive and the 90-member Legislative Council, and electing the chief executive and 40 LegCo members. The State Council must subsequently ratify the chief executive's election.

Noting that a total of 412 candidates will compete for 364 seats in 13 of the 40 subsectors, Tang wrote in his blog that this election is of great significance, since the elected committee members will play key roles in the Legislative Council election and Chief Executive election held in December this year and March 2022 respectively.

The Security Bureau and the police force will formulate a security plan to prevent possible security risks, Tang said, adding that the law will be strictly enforced once acts that endanger public safety occur.

Tang said that the police will continue to strengthen intelligence gathering and cyber patrols to identify and prevent saboteurs committing disruptive activities. Police will also step up interceptions to prevent those with illegal items from entering the election sites and other important public places, he added.

"I have absolute confidence in the disciplined forces' ability in conducting large-scale security operations. Any extremist who deliberately sabotages elections faces a severe crackdown by law enforcement agencies", said Tang.