Beijing trip in the works for all 90 lawmakers in July

Legislative Council President Starry Lee on Wednesday said preparations are being made for all 90 lawmakers to make a trip to Beijing in July, with part of the objective being to help them better understand the country's 15th Five-Year Plan. She said the trip would involve study as well as field trips and that announcements would be made when plans had become more concrete. Lee said it would be of a great help to Hong Kong if lawmakers could have the chance to learn in person about the country's latest developments, concrete arrangements regarding the latest five-year plan and national strategies. "I believe that will help lawmakers better assist the SAR government in aligning with the 15th Five-Year Plan," she said. "And I believe it will also help in formulating and pushing forward Hong Kong's first five-year plan, as well as implementing it." Lee also said that Legco had recently introduced a spokesperson mechanism not seen in previous legislative terms, adding the system permitted official responses to be set forth on various matters. "A spokesperson mechanism is common place in many organisations. Having such a system, I think, allows Legco to better respond to inquiries from the public, especially from [the press]," she said. Who the spokesperson is representing depends on what the issue is in each case, Lee said, adding that the media would still be able to ask individual lawmakers for their views. Edited by Tony Sabine