HK LegCo's new leader pledges support for national plan

The newly elected president of the city's Legislative Council, or LegCo, Starry Lee Wai-king, pledged on Thursday to provide her full support to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government in aligning the SAR's development with the nation's 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30).

Lee also committed to maintaining constructive checks and balances in pursuing efficient collaboration with the executive branch. She made her pledge after triumphing over Ronick Chan Chun-ying of the financial sector, in a 47 to 42 vote. The election followed a two-hour special forum on Thursday morning.

Cognizant of the public expectations for the legislature to swiftly begin its work, Lee said the first meeting of the eighth-term LegCo, scheduled for Wednesday, will focus on discussing recovery and reconstruction initiatives in response to the Wang Fuk Court fire in Tai Po. The blaze, which broke out on Nov 26, killed at least 161 people, injured 79 and displaced nearly 2,000 households. Details of the meeting will be announced later.

Lee, 51, is the most senior incumbent lawmaker, having been first elected in 2008.

She served as a nonofficial member of the Executive Council from 2012 to 2016, and chaired the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong political party from 2015 to 2023. Since 2023, she has served as a member of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress.

As the city's only delegate to the NPC Standing Committee, Lee observed that the work of the NPC and that of the LegCo is mutually reinforcing amid the city's push to integrate into national development. She estimated there would be roughly four overlapping meetings per year and pledged to remain in Hong Kong to chair LegCo sessions on key issues, with the nation's backing.

She voiced an appeal to lawmakers in the new term to serve as builders who solve problems, not as critics who merely identify them.

Lawmaker Priscilla Leung Mei-fun said this election sets a benchmark for high-quality democracy.

"In my 17 years of serving on the Legislative Council, this is the first time a major chairperson election forum has been conducted with such civility and quality. It has opened a new chapter for good governance as we enter its second phase," Leung said, as she congratulated Lee on her election.

The debate was instructive for both re-elected and newly appointed members, representing a high-level political contest, Leung added.

The G19 lawmakers, comprising nine legislators from the functional constituency and eight from the Election Committee constituency, said they would fully support the president's work over the next four years.