The Government announced today (July 6) the Chief Executive (CE)'s appointment of members of the Candidate Eligibility Review Committee (CERC) commencing on July 6, 2021.
 
     The Improving Electoral System (Consolidated Amendments) Ordinance 2021 was published in the Gazette and came into effect on May 31 this year. The CE has appointed the chairperson, three official members and three non-official members of the CERC under section 9A of the Chief Executive Election Ordinance (Cap. 569).
 
     A Government spokesman said, "In the light of the important functions of the CERC in the candidate eligibility review mechanism and the views of the community, the Government proposed to expand the composition of the CERC to include patriotic, independent and apolitical individuals when the Legislative Council scrutinised the Improving Electoral System (Consolidated Amendments) Bill 2021, with a view to further enhancing the credibility of the CERC."

     The spokesman also said, "The non-official members appointed to the CERC are all patriots, i.e. protecting national sovereignty, security and development interests; respecting and upholding the fundamental system of the country and the constitutional order of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR); and making every effort to maintain the prosperity and stability of Hong Kong. We are grateful for their acceptance of the appointment as members of the CERC who will assist in assessing and validating the eligibility of candidates in the Election Committee (EC), CE and Legislative Council (LegCo) elections, thereby providing a very important institutional safeguard for the implementation of patriots administering Hong Kong."

     In accordance with Annex I and Annex II to the Basic Law, the CERC is responsible for assessing and validating the eligibility of candidates in the EC, CE and LegCo elections. Pursuant to the assessment made by the National Security Department of the Police of the HKSAR Government, the Committee for Safeguarding National Security of HKSAR will decide whether a candidate complies with the legal requirements and conditions for upholding the Basic Law and bearing allegiance to the HKSAR of the People's Republic of China, and issue an opinion to the CERC for those who do not comply with the legal requirements and conditions.

     The Government will publish the appointment of the chairperson and members of the CERC in the Gazette on July 9. The membership list of the CERC with effect from July 6, 2021, is as follows:
 
Chairperson
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Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr John Lee Ka-chiu
 
Official members
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Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs, Mr Erick Tsang Kwok-wai
Secretary for Home Affairs, Mr Caspar Tsui Ying-wai
Secretary for Security, Mr Tang Ping-keung

Non-official members
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Miss Elsie Leung Oi-sie
Mrs Rita Fan Hsu Lai-tai
Professor Lawrence Lau Juen-yee

Ends/Tuesday, July 6, 2021
Issued at HKT 12:10

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