HKSAR's LegCo has returned to rationality: LegCo president

Andrew Leung, president of the Legislative Council (LegCo) of China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), said on Tuesday that the LegCo has returned to rationality after the improvement of Hong Kong's electoral system.

Leung said in the LegCo's annual report that improving Hong Kong's electoral system has ensured the implementation of the principle of "patriots administering Hong Kong" and the steady progress in the practice of "one country, two systems."

Noting the LegCo's working efficiency has greatly improved, Leung said it held 49 meetings in the past year, with no member's grossly disorderly conduct causing meetings to be suspended or terminated.

He said that the LegCo effectively handled a huge backlog of agenda items and passed a record 46 government bills in 2020/2021, more than double the average of about 20 bills for the previous legislative years.

In the past year, the LegCo's Finance Committee effectively discharged its functions to examine and approve public expenditure proposals submitted by the HKSAR government, passing a record high of 120 proposals, involving 327.8 billion HK dollars (41.84 billion U.S. dollars), Leung said.

At present, the overriding task in Hong Kong is to bring COVID-19 under control and restore normal life and economic activity as soon as possible, Leung said, noting that all members of the seventh-term LegCo will work with the HKSAR government and the public to fight the epidemic.