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Election seen as milestone in HK's democratic development

By LI BINGCUN and CHEN SHUMAN in Hong Kong | CHINA DAILY | Updated: 2021-12-21 07:18

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Some of the winners in the 2021 Legislative Council General Election celebrate with supporters at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre on Dec 20, 2021. The victors were elected in the Election Committee constituency, which has 40 seats in the 90-seat council. The vote on Dec 19 was the first in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region held after changes were made to improve the electoral system. [Photo by CALVIN NG/CHINA DAILY]

Hong Kong's smooth and orderly Legislative Council election has fully demonstrated the advantages of the city's improved electoral system and is a milestone in developing democracy that suits its actual situation, officials and civic leaders said on Monday.

Their remarks came after the election results for all 90 seats of the seventh Legislative Council were declared on Monday.

A total of 153 candidates had contested the 90 seats－40 in the Election Committee constituency, 30 from functional constituencies and 20 from geographical constituencies.

More than 1.35 million registered voters cast their votes in the election, and the voter turnout of the Election Committee reached 98 percent.

The successful candidates come from a range of backgrounds and include veteran political party leaders, such as Starry Lee Wai-king and Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee, as well as younger faces including Zhang Xinyu, Edward Leung Hei and Dominic Lee Tsz-king.

After assuming office on Jan 1 and swearing their oaths on Jan 3, they will serve the public for the next four years. The first session of the new Legislative Council is scheduled to be held on Jan 12.

Hailing the smooth conclusion of the election, the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council and the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region said the election under the improved system marks a significant step for Hong Kong to develop a democratic system that suits its own situation and with its own characteristics.

Speaking to local media, Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor stressed that the election is quite significant for Hong Kong's future as it elected patriotic lawmakers with diverse backgrounds.

Citing the damage that unpatriotic people would bring if they entered the governance structure, Lam said it is important to have the principle of "patriots administering Hong Kong" laid out in the electoral revamp, as Hong Kong is an inalienable part of China.

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