Newly-elected HKSAR lawmakers set for long to-do list

For Lillian Kwok, the improved electoral system allows her to enter the Legislative Council (LegCo) of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) and voice for the next generation and frontline teachers. Kwok, a registered teacher, is a new LegCo member returned by the Election Committee constituency in the just-concluded seventh-term LegCo election of the HKSAR.
She said that some LegCo members in the past had been playing with politics, making it hard for the voices of education practitioners to be heard within the council.
The HKSAR on Monday unveiled its new lawmaker lineup after successfully holding its first legislative election under an improved electoral system, a major step toward getting rid of past political quagmire and fast-tracking solutions to Hong Kong’s deep-seated problems. Ninety elected lawmakers, standing out from a total of 153 candidates from different backgrounds and across the political spectrum, will sit on the seventh-term LegCo of the HKSAR.
As a teacher, Kwok wishes to push forward changes for Hong Kong’s education with her experience. “Apart from teaching children the correct national concept, we also have to cultivate talents in our next generation in line with the development of the country,” she said.
Kwok is echoed by Steven Ho, who is elected by the agriculture and fisheries functional constituency. Ho said that intense political disputes shrouding Hong Kong in the past years had drowned out the voices of various sectors, leaving functional constituencies unable to perform their original functions.
“After the improvements of Hong Kong’s electoral system, the LegCo has returned to normalcy, allowing members from all sectors to cooperate on a rational basis,” Ho said. Jan. 1, 2022 will be the commencement date of the seventh-term LegCo of the HKSAR. – Xinhua