Eighty per cent of success is showing up, as they say. So, all but one of Hong Kong’s 89 legislators joining a week-long “national affairs study visit” to Beijing made a good impression.
Lawmaker Stanley Ng Chau-pei called it a “groundbreaking opportunity” for legislators to study and deepen their understanding of national conditions. Showing up eager to learn and to better grasp how Hong Kong can play a more proactive role in national development is indeed commendable.
The legislature had worked overtime to review the bill for the Huanggang Port and legislators committed their first week of summer recess to the study tour. It’s interesting that the delegation was referred to in one news report as “a class”. The group photos, complete with a banner in the front, resemble those of schoolchildren on summer study tours.
Lifelong learning is crucial. We don’t expect our lawmakers to be know-it-alls, but we do expect them to keep themselves abreast of the latest developments and constant shifts in this fast-paced world.
It is also excellent to see that the current slate of legislators has made genuine efforts to show up in the chamber. Only three lawmakers had an overall attendance rate below 90 per cent. It’s hard to imagine, but it hasn’t always been this way.
A damning report in 2023 showed that the new and improved Legislative Council had an issue with showing up. The report found that in the 2022 legislative year, at least two-thirds of bills were passed with under half of all councillors present, falling short even of the 45-member quorum requirement.