'Pan-dems Should Avoid Chaos In Legco'

Pro-Beijing heavyweights have said they think that the city's pro-democracy lawmakers will stay on in Legco for the coming year and urged them not to cause chaos or hold the government back.

The comments come after some from the camp said they would boycott Legco, saying the decision to extend the term beyond four years is unconstitutional.

Tam Yiu-chung, Hong Kong's sole delegate to the National People's Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC) said that the pro-democracy camp would risk making major losses if they choose not to stay on.

Speaking to an RTHK radio programme, Tam said the lawmakers say they're still considering only because they don't want to show they are rushing to take up the offer.

The former DAB chairman said the camp "should be reborn" and stop causing chaos if and when they return to Legco.

Meanwhile a deputy director of the Basic Law Committee, Maria Tam, said she believes the opposition would find a reason to return to Legco.

She told the same programme that she was not worried about this, but urged them to abide by the law – including the national security law – and not to hold back the government.

She also said people need to look at the Chinese constitution, instead of just relying on the Basic Law, when studying how Beijing resolves Hong Kong's problems.

Responding to the argument from critics that the decision to extend Legco by no less than a year is unconstitutional because the mini-constitution states that a Legco term shall be four years, the deputy director of the Basic Law Committee said this was not a contradiction as according to the constitution, the national legislature decides on the SAR's system.