LegCo election postponement to protect safety of HK people: FM

BEIJING - The postponement of the 2020 Legislative Council (LegCo) General Election in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) was a legitimate move to protect the lives and health of Hong Kong citizens, and was necessary to ensure the safety, justice and fairness of the election, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said here Monday.

On July 31, Chief Executive of the HKSAR Carrie Lam announced the postponement for one year of the seventh LegCo General Election, originally scheduled for Sept 6, 2020, due to the recent local COVID-19 outbreak. Some countries expressed concern at the postponement.

In response, spokesperson Wang Wenbin told a news briefing that it was "a legitimate move to protect the lives and health of Hong Kong citizens, and a necessary move to ensure the safety, justice and fairness of the LegCo General Election."

He said the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council and the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the HKSAR had both issued statements to support the decision, and it was not the first time an election had been delayed in the world due to an epidemic.

"The decision of the HKSAR government conforms to this prevailing practice, which is reasonable and legal," Wang said.

He stressed that Hong Kong is a special administrative region of China, and the LegCo General Election of Hong Kong is a local election in China, and purely an internal matter of Hong Kong. No foreign government, organization or individual has the right or reason to interfere, he said.