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Letters | Reaching out to university students can help rebuild Legco’s credibility

  • University students and researchers are an untapped resource that could inform Legco policymaking and provide insight on issues affecting the community

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Newly elected Legislative Council lawmakers from geographic constituencies meet the media at Legco in Admiralty on December 22. Photo: Felix Wong

With the commencement of the Seventh Legislative Council on January 1 – the first since the Hong Kong electoral revamp – we are writing to express our best wishes for the newly minted lawmakers. We hope they can work proactively with university students and scholars regarding public policies during their tenure in the next four years.

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The Legco Research Office undertakes research studies primarily on request from the council, committees and members. Staff closely monitor current affairs and prepare research publications for lawmakers’ reference.

Therefore, the office is well-positioned to collaborate with university scholars and students to investigate a range of policy issues and leverage the research capabilities and talent at local tertiary institutions. It should work with the Policy Innovation and Co-ordination Office to set up mini-grants for university students to conduct research projects on policy matters that could inform policymaking in Legco.

Legco should also revamp its complaint-handling mechanism to more effectively engage the city’s youth. The Legislative Council Redress System has been established to receive and handle complaints from members of the public who are aggrieved by government actions or policies through its Public Complaints Office.

In 2019-20, the office received and processed 3,813 cases involving a range of policy bureaus and departments. While lawmakers formed groups and took turns performing “ward duty” in meeting with members of the public, on average, only about 61.4 such meetings were held each year over the past five years. Legco members could offer more opportunities for university scholars and students to meet them, not necessarily to handle complaints but to discuss policy issues affecting the community.

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Pro-establishment bloc dominates Hong Kong Legislative Council after record-low turnout for election

Pro-establishment bloc dominates Hong Kong Legislative Council after record-low turnout for election
Only 20 of the 90 Legco members were directly elected through geographic constituencies. The record low turnout for the election was probably a result of all candidates needing to be screened by a pro-Beijing electoral committee.
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