HONG KONG, April 14 (Xinhua) -- Paul Chan, financial secretary of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government, was appointed as the chairman of the Candidate Eligibility Review Committee (CERC), the HKSAR government said on Thursday.
Taking effect on Thursday, the appointment was made to fill the vacancies arising from the State Council's removal of John Lee from the post of chief secretary for administration on April 7, 2022, the HKSAR government said when announcing the latest membership list of the committee.
Meanwhile, the State Council decided on Feb. 24 to remove Caspar Tsui from the post of secretary for home affairs (SHA). Given that Tsui was appointed as an official member of the CERC on an ad personam basis, and his appointment had been reported to the central government for record, it is not permissible for the Acting SHA to stand-in to attend CERC meetings.
To fill the vacancies arising from the above and ensure that the CERC could continue to perform its statutory functions in accordance with the law, the chief executive has, pursuant to section 9A of the Chief Executive Election Ordinance, appointed Financial Secretary Paul Chan as the chairperson, and the Secretary for Education Kevin Yeung as an official member of the CERC.
The appointments have been published in the gazette Thursday and reported to the central government for the record. According to the latest membership list of the CERC, Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Erick Tsang, Secretary for Security Chris Tang were also appointed as official members, while non-official members include Elsie Leung, Rita Fan and Lawrence Lau.
In accordance with Annex I and Annex II to the HKSAR Basic Law, the CERC is responsible for assessing and validating the eligibility of candidates in the Election Committee, Chief Executive and Legislative Council elections. ■
