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Saturday, Feb 22, 2025
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Lawmaker slams John Lee for dwarfing LegCo
Lawmaker Tik Chi-yuen said new Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu was attempting to "dwarf" Legislative Council by setting a range for questions.
Lee on Wednesday will attend his first Legislative Council Question and Answer Session after taking office.
It was reported that he wanted lawmakers to focus their questions on "areas of public concern", such as follow-up on Chinese President Xi Jinping's July 1 speech, or land and housing supply.
Tik said he was surprised by this, adding that it would damage the monitoring and questioning functions of the Legislative Council and might affect Lee's image, giving the wrong impression that he did not have the confidence to respond to lawmakers' questions.
He also said that Lee could make suggestions to the LegCo, but if it was included in the agenda rules, it would become a restriction, which was unacceptable.
Lee Ka-chiu said on Tuesday that he welcomes lawmakers' questions on any topics at his first Legislative Council question-and-answer session on Wednesday.
His clarification came after Legislative Council president Andrew Leung Kwan-yuen defended the Chief Executive’s decision to confine questions to the seven topics specified in advance.
Leung said that the Chief Executive is entitled to designate specific topics for Legco Q&A sessions. While previous leaders, including Lee’s predecessor, Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, did not usually designate specific topics for lawmakers, Leung said it was standard procedure to do so.
It was reported that he wanted lawmakers to focus their questions on "areas of public concern", such as follow-up on Chinese President Xi Jinping's July 1 speech, or land and housing supply.
Tik said he was surprised by this, adding that it would damage the monitoring and questioning functions of the Legislative Council and might affect Lee's image, giving the wrong impression that he did not have the confidence to respond to lawmakers' questions.
He also said that Lee could make suggestions to the LegCo, but if it was included in the agenda rules, it would become a restriction, which was unacceptable.
Lee Ka-chiu said on Tuesday that he welcomes lawmakers' questions on any topics at his first Legislative Council question-and-answer session on Wednesday.
His clarification came after Legislative Council president Andrew Leung Kwan-yuen defended the Chief Executive’s decision to confine questions to the seven topics specified in advance.
Leung said that the Chief Executive is entitled to designate specific topics for Legco Q&A sessions. While previous leaders, including Lee’s predecessor, Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, did not usually designate specific topics for lawmakers, Leung said it was standard procedure to do so.
