Thread by @XinqiSu

#CarrieLam meets press at 6pm.

#CarrieLam presser #thread starts here. Along with her there are SJ Teresa Cheng, Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Erick Tsang, Secretary for Food and Health Sophia Chan and Undersecretary for CMA Roy Tang.

No new backdrop.

#BREAKING LegCo general election to be postponed - HK Gov projected on the wall.

#CarrieLam said postponing the LegCo election is "the hardest decision I have made in the past 7 months" but a "necessary" one to "protect public health, people's lives and guarantee fairness of the election".

#CarrieLam said the government will invoke emergency law to postpone the LegCo election and the decision is supported by Beijing.

#CarrieLam is talking about HK gov's anti-epidemic policies - a little wind back here: at 5pm, HK gov announced that its national security commission had a meeting with the national security office today. The agency's mysterious deputy Sun Qingye is L1 on front row.

#CarrieLam said the LegCo election is special becos 1) it involves 4.4 million electors, 70 seats, 34K staff and over 600 polling stations 2) many electors are stuck in mainland China 3) ban on group gathering with over 2ppl is in force

4) Asia World Expos is used as temporary hospital for #covid patients and it's hard to find another place for the central vote counting station; 5) Elderlies are vulnerable to #covid; 6) Can't allow campaigning broadcast in air, extending voting period, overseas voting or e-vote

#CarrieLam's 4 reasons to postpone LegCo 1) infection risk as millions vote 2) EAC chair wrote her a letter 3 days ago listing difficulties in controlling infection risks (Lam said she did not discuss with EAC) 3) no "meaningful"canvassing under group gathering ban, and...

4) electors in mainland China can't vote and elderly voters bear most risk. "We cherish the right to vote," #CarrieLam said.

#CarrieLam: the LegCo election will be postponed for a year in order to avoid vacuum of legislature, to fit the annual cycle of most of administrative work and works like elector registration.

#CarrieLam said she will be criticised for "abusing power" if she invoke the chief executive's power in LegCo ordinance to postpone the election for 14 days each time till conditions are suitable.

#CarrieLam cited the court of appeal's ruling this April on government's mask ban to support her government's use of the law again this time.
She also said postponing the election "meets the public interest" becos it will reduce pressure on medical system.

#CarrieLam said she submitted an urgent report to Beijing to seek support and the State Council said they would ask the NPCSC to decide on article 69 of Basic Law which provides that each term of LegCo lasts only 4 years.

The LegCo election will be postponed to September 5, 2021.
SJ Teresa Cheng said all returning officers will stop discharging duties from tomorrow and the government will cover the campaign expenses of some nominees.

"The LegCo election 2020 will come to an end as the emergency law takes effect," said Erick Tsang, secretary for constitutional and mainland affairs.

#CarrieLam: "The decision has no political consideration at all. I have only time for the developments of the epidemic and no time for the electoral competitions."

#CarrieLam: "I have no idea how the NPCSC will handle the Basic Law provision. I can only talk about my personal opinions based on common sense...some nominees disqualified may return to LegCo as incumbent lawmakers...We won't disqualify them simply due to this disqualification."

#CarrieLam smirked when answering the question about sanctions. She said she “dismissed the sanctions with a laugh and sniff" 一笑置之，嗤之以鼻, and "unless they launch the so-called nuke weapon, otherwise we can handle".

#CarrieLam said in HKSAR, a meaningful legislature will have to comprise with people who uphold the Basic Law and support HK as an unalienable part of China. "People who can't fulfil these two requirements can't be part of a meaningful legislature."

#CarrieLam: "This issue [to postpone LegCo election] is so sensitive that no returning officer can possibly know what we were doing" when answering why a dozen nominees were DQ a day before her announcement.

SJ Teresa Cheng said the election in 2021 will be "a brand new election" and nominees DQ-ed this time can lodge nomination again next year.

#CarrieLam said the gov thought about plans to dispatch "elderly caring teams", set up CCTV cameras in polling stations and set up e-voting system for election in this September but "couldn't convince the Election Affairs Commission".

#CarrieLam said the decision to postpone the LegCo election was not mentioned to her 4 public health experts becos "my experts are not interested in politics" and that is "a tacit understanding and mutual respect".

Wait, didn't she just said no political consideration at all?

#CarrieLam said ”hypothetically speaking", if NPCSC decides that the coming year will be "an extension of the current term of LegCo", then bills that haven't managed to be completed can have its scrutiny continued.

Errr...where does the extradition bill stand?

#CarrieLam: "What we need now is solidarity"
"An election cannot be simply switched on and off. It takes time."
"It will be irresponsible if anyone still believes the election can be carried out on September 6 safely."

#CarrieLam said she communicates with @gmleunghku of @hkumed everyday on the epidemic development in HK as she cited worries of the case worsening to support her decision to postpone the election.