Officials, lawmakers and judges would be required to take classes on the Basic Law, Hong Kong's mini-constitution, under a motion to be tabled at China's annual legislative session, reports said yesterday.
The proposal was put forward by Hong Kong delegate Lee Cho-jat and 50 of the territory's 122 delegates to the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) had signed it, according to local media.
But it would not include the previously-mooted suggestion for a code of conduct to monitor legislators' patriotic attitudes and breaches of oaths of allegiance to Beijing and the Basic Law.
Hong Kong's democratic development is enshrined in the Basic Law, which came into force at the handover of sovereignty from Britain to China in 1997.
The motion comes amid intensifying debate on the introduction of full democracy by 2007 and over Hong Kong politicians' and officials' patriotism.
Lee acknowledged that his original idea was a response to Democratic legislator Martin Lee's (李柱銘) controversial recent trip to the US to promote democracy in the territory.
He had now dropped the code of conduct plan because the Basic Law already provided for such a monitoring mechanism, he said, but added that legislators should not be left "unchecked," he added.
Secretary for Constitutional Affairs Stephen Lam (
Democratic legislator Fred Li Wah-ming slammed the idea, calling it a "joke."
"It's like asking us to go back to school," Li said. "It's meaningless. The argument is not whether we understand the Basic Law, it's a political argument -- whether we want the universal suffrage."
However, legislator Eric Li, also a Hong Kong CPPCC delegate, welcomed the idea, saying the 121-page Basic Law was an important instrument that was worth studying.
A new online voting system aimed at boosting turnout among the Philippines’ millions of overseas workers ahead of Monday’s mid-term elections has been marked by confusion and fears of disenfranchisement. Thousands of overseas Filipino workers have already cast their ballots in the race dominated by a bitter feud between President Ferdinand Marcos Jr and his impeached vice president, Sara Duterte. While official turnout figures are not yet publicly available, data from the Philippine Commission on Elections (COMELEC) showed that at least 134,000 of the 1.22 million registered overseas voters have signed up for the new online system, which opened on April 13. However,
ENTERTAINMENT: Rio officials have a history of organizing massive concerts on Copacabana Beach, with Madonna’s show drawing about 1.6 million fans last year Lady Gaga on Saturday night gave a free concert in front of 2 million fans who poured onto Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro for the biggest show of her career. “Tonight, we’re making history... Thank you for making history with me,” Lady Gaga told a screaming crowd. The Mother Monster, as she is known, started the show at about 10:10pm local time with her 2011 song Bloody Mary. Cries of joy rose from the tightly packed fans who sang and danced shoulder-to-shoulder on the vast stretch of sand. Concert organizers said 2.1 million people attended the show. Lady Gaga
ALLIES: Calling Putin his ‘old friend,’ Xi said Beijing stood alongside Russia ‘in the face of the international counter-current of unilateralism and hegemonic bullying’ Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) yesterday was in Moscow for a state visit ahead of the Kremlin’s grand Victory Day celebrations, as Ukraine accused Russia’s army of launching air strikes just hours into a supposed truce. More than 20 foreign leaders were in Russia to attend a vast military parade today marking 80 years since the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II, taking place three years into Russia’s offensive in Ukraine. Putin ordered troops into Ukraine in February 2022 and has marshaled the memory of Soviet victory against Nazi Germany to justify his campaign and rally society behind the offensive,
CONFLICTING REPORTS: Beijing said it was ‘not familiar with the matter’ when asked if Chinese jets were used in the conflict, after Pakistan’s foreign minister said they were The Pakistan Army yesterday said it shot down 25 Indian drones, a day after the worst violence between the nuclear-armed rivals in two decades. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif vowed to retaliate after India launched deadly missile strikes on Wednesday morning, escalating days of gunfire along their border. At least 45 deaths were reported from both sides following Wednesday’s violence, including children. Pakistan’s military said in a statement yesterday that it had “so far shot down 25 Israeli-made Harop drones” at multiple location across the country. “Last night, India showed another act of aggression by sending drones to multiple locations,” Pakistan military spokesman Ahmed
RSS