Reform Must Be Handled Quickly: Tam Yiu-chung

Hong Kong's sole delegate to the nation's top legislative body, Tam Yiu-chung, said on Sunday that he expects detailed legislation to put into effect Beijing's sweeping electoral reforms to be concluded by May, as the SAR runs on a tight schedule ahead of next year's chief executive race.

The revamp will see the committee that chooses the chief executive grow by three hundred members to 1,500, and take on new powers to elect an unspecified number of lawmakers as Beijing seeks to ensure that "patriots" run the SAR.

Tam told a radio programme the work must be completed quickly as the next vote for CE is just a year away.

He said time will be needed to conduct voter registration and form a new election committee before the poll, scheduled for March next year, can be held.

Speaking afterwards, he noted that the National People's Standing Committee, on which he sits, will soon discuss details of the revamp, including the composition of the election committee.

"I want more people that will represent different classes of people to join the committee, that will be good for Hong Kong," he said.

Critics have questioned whether it's suitable for election committee members, who are tasked with picking patriots for positions in government, to continue to hold foreign passports.

Tam dismissed such concerns.

"According to the law of Hong Kong and the Basic Law, they have some arrangements already, I don't think [there will be] anything change or new," he said, after being asked whether new election committee members and their families would still be allowed to hold passports from overseas.