With the current terms of district councils expiring by the end of this year, the Home and Youth Affairs Bureau and the Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau have launched a review of district administration.

The review will ensure district council arrangements will "conform with the Basic Law," uphold the principle of "patriots administering Hong Kong," and enhance "governance efficacy at the district level."

The last district council elections were in November 2019 amid anti-extradition protests.

District councilors in the pro-democracy camp scored a landslide victory, gaining 388 seats in the 18 councils against the establishment camp's 89. But most resigned or were disqualified over the following two years.

Separately, Legislative Council president Andrew Leung Kwan-yuen said on Facebook that he met with central government liaison office director Zheng Yanxiong at a spring gathering on Monday.

"The next five years will be a critical period for Hong Kong to break new ground," he said.

And former chief executive Leung Chun-ying recapped a visit to Nansha last week.

Leung said the area in Guangzhou is being developed as an international financial center and noted that local insurance firms have set up after-sale service departments in Nansha.

The finance industry can also set up offices there, he said, and HSBC has already established a training center.