'Lawmakers Banned From Running May Not Stay On'

Hong Kong's sole delegate to the country's top legislature, Tam Yiu-chung, hinted on Sunday that incumbent lawmakers disqualified from running in the 2020 Legco election may not be able to stay on for one year, should legislators be asked to do so because of the postponed polls.

When announcing the vote's delay on Friday, Chief Executive Carrie Lam said she believed all outgoing lawmakers should stay on during the one-year vacuum period, but admitted she had not made that proposal to Beijing.

Lam stressed the decision is entirely up to the National People's Congress Standing Committee. It's scheduled to meet for four days starting Saturday.

Tam, of the NPC Standing Committee, said on a TV programme that he believes people will respect differences in opinion between the national legislature and the SAR government.

He admitted that the situation is "a little awkward" when it comes to the fate of four councillors, three from the Civic Party, who have been disqualified from running in the now-postponed election.

Tam again proposed ways to improve the electoral system, such as setting up polling stations in the Greater Bay Area for Hong Kong residents who live there, as well as accepting electronic votes.

The Democratic Party's Helena Wong said she's strongly against the idea of setting up polling stations in the Greater Bay Area. She raised concerns about possible fraud.

The law states that only those who "ordinarily reside" in the SAR are eligible to vote.

The DAB stalwart also said the legislature should focus on government bills related to livelihood matters in the next year. And he believes it will be difficult to make laws on national security, as stated in Article 23 of the Basic Law, during this period

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