Fewer Directly Elected Legco Seats On The Cards

There are further signs pointing to fewer directly elected seats in a future Legco under Beijing-led electoral reform.

Two lawmakers attending seminars hosted by visiting mainland officials on Tuesday on changes to Hong Kong's election system said the number of directly elected seats should be lower than the current 35.

Both Michael Tien and Wong Kwok-kin cited comments by Wang Chen, deputy chairman of the National People's Congress Standing Committee, that a "relatively large share" of legislators will be chosen by the election committee.

Earlier, a local NPC deputy, Stanley Ng, floated the figure of 20 in a future 90-member council.

Legco President Andrew Leung, for his part, said he didn't tell mainland officials how many directly elected lawmakers should remain in future, adding that he believes Beijing will make a decision after hearing people's views.

On the threshold for Legco hopefuls, Tien – a Roundtable lawmaker and businessman – said a candidate should get at least three nominations from each of the five election committee sub-sectors in order to run.

But Wong, of the Federation of Trade Unions, said the bar should be set higher, at 10 nominations from each sub-sector.

A vetting committee will be set up to ensure only "patriots" can join the race.

The Legco president, meanwhile, said he's happy to add council sessions to vet government bills to change the electoral system, saying lawmakers are ready to cooperate.