'Pity' Two Lawmakers Didn't Attend Seminar: Alice Mak

Federation of Trade Unions lawmaker Alice Mak on Tuesday said it was a "pity" that two lawmakers didn't attend Monday's seminar on the nation's five-year plan.

At the session in Legco deputy director of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, Huang Liuquan, said too much time had been spent arguing about politics here, but the Civic Passion's Cheng Chung-tai and the medical constituency lawmaker, Pierre Chan, did not attend.

Mak said everyone in Hong Kong should be familiar with the country's development blueprint, adding that it was high time for the SAR to focus on development and improving people's livelihoods.

“If you do not know about the plan, then you would not know how Hong Kong can move forward because it is undeniable that Hong Kong’s development is closely tied with our country’s development,” the lawmaker said.

She added one of the most pressing priorities for Hong Kong was to reopen the borders with the mainland as soon as possible.

“At this moment, we think reopening the borders is very important because we need to maintain regular and proper communication between our people so that we can go back to the mainland. And also, people from the mainland could come to Hong Kong and do business."

Lawmakers have welcomed Huang’s message that the SAR should use a "favourable environment" to focus on development.