Communicate With Us Better, Lawmakers Tell John Lee

Lawmakers on Sunday urged the sole Chief Executive candidate, John Lee, to improve the relationship between the executive and legislative branches.

At a virtual meeting, several lawmakers expressed hope that incoming government officials would communicate more with them and not beat around the bush in discussions.

"It seems to me that lawmakers say what they want to say, while officials do what they want to do, and it appears that there is very little connection between the two sides," said Tik Chi-yuen, the only non-establishment legislator.

Others called on Lee, a former chief secretary and security minister, to ensure he appoints the right people in the upcoming administration to bolster governance.

"If important positions are not guaranteed to be held by people with both political integrity and ability, the so-called 'patriots administering Hong Kong' would just be empty talk," lawmaker Sun Dong said.

Another legislator, Paul Tse, highlighted the need to present Hong Kong in a way that shows western countries the territory has its own characteristics, and is not just "any other city in China".

Tse said one way to achieve that would be for the administration to be conscious of the SAR's image and the use of words when communicating with other governments.