Hong Kong should review reducing number of Legco seats to cut cost, Rita Fan says
Hong Kong’s first Legislative Council president suggested reviewing the number of seats in the city’s legislature, citing the need to use public funds properly. Rita Fan Hsu Lai-tai also said on Sunday that Hong Kong and Shenzhen authorities had discussed the development of a plot at the two cities’ border before the handover to Chinese rule in 1997, but the plan failed because of opposition…
Rita Fan Hsu Lai-tai, Hong Kong's former first Legislative Council president, suggested reviewing the number of seats in the city's legislature to use public funds more efficiently. During a radio show appearance, she commented that the current 90 seats may be excessive, agreeing with a friend's view that 90 seats cost more than 60. Fan noted that the authorities should review and discuss this matter in the future, though she was not making any concrete suggestions due to stepping back from politics.
The number of Legislative Council seats grew from 60 to 90 after the electoral system was revamped in 2021. The new system included 40 seats chosen by an Electoral Committee, 20 elected by voters, and 30 selected by professionals from functional constituencies. Fan, whose son Alex Fan Hoi-kit is also a lawmaker, said she wouldn't provide practical advice to her successors, as each Legco term would face unique challenges.
However, she emphasized that lawmakers should always conduct themselves cautiously and avoid committing any legal breaches, citing recent misconduct among Legco members.
In July, former Election Committee sector lawmaker William Wong Kam-fai resigned from the legislature after being arrested for dangerous driving. Earlier, Judy Chan Kapui, the Hong Kong Island West representative, received a HK$2,000 fine for driving on the wrong side of the road and a written warning from Legco's Supervisory Committee.
Fan discussed the late Tung Chee-hwa, Hong Kong's first chief executive, praising him as a visionary leader who introduced forward-looking plans during his tenure. She mentioned that Tung and she were approached by the party boss and mayor of Shenzhen to discuss developing the Lok Ma Chau Loop, a 87-hectare border area into a technology hub.
Despite strong cooperation from both sides, the initiative was halted due to opposition from prominent Hong Kong government figures at the time. Tung was determined to push forward the project, leading to the creation of Cyberport as a prominent technology hub in Hong Kong.
Written by urgent.news from South China Morning Post - Hong Kong's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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