Starry Lee Re-elected House Committee Chairwoman

The DAB's Starry Lee was finally re-elected chairwoman of the House Committee on Monday morning, ending months of Legco wrangling which had drawn the ire of the government and Beijing.

The pro-establishment camp's Chan Kin-por called the vote, after most of the pan-democratic members had been dragged out of the room by security guards as the meeting once again descended into utter chaos.

The committee had failed to elect a chairperson since the council came back from its summer break last October, with this holding up a series of bills, including a controversial new law banning disrespect for the national anthem.

Beijing had demanded action be taken to stop filibustering of the committee meetings, spurring the pro-establishment camp into action to wrest control of the proceedings.

In the end, and with only five pan-dems left in the conference room, the voting process took just several minutes from the ballot papers being distributed to the result coming in. Lee was re-elected with 40 votes.

Like the previous House Committee meeting before it, Monday's session was marked by chanting and scuffles as the pan-dems protested over Chan being given the job of presiding over the election, replacing the Civic Party's Dennis Kwok.

Lee said she hopes future House Committee meetings will be smooth and that members can make up for lost time.

She said she has been elected with the support of most lawmakers, and those who question the legality of the election can take the matter to court if they wish.

"I know that we have some disagreements over certain points. If people have different views … they have the right to seek clarification, even through the courts," Lee said.

Business and Professionals Alliance lawmaker Priscilla Leung said she was happy that the election had finally been completed.

"Late is better than never. We still have two months to go and we hope that we can pass some essential bills," she said.

But Leung added that she expects chaos to ensue again when the national anthem law is tabled to the committee on May 27.