Opinion | Starry Lee or Ronick Chan? Lawmakers’ choice will reveal their priorities

Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu swore in the new Legislative Council on January 1 without issue, even though a few lawmakers had to redo their oaths. And the first order of business for them is to elect the council president in a vote expected on January 8

to Legco members – calling on them to be “representatives of the public”, and to prioritise the interests of the nation and Hong Kong over personal political gain and glory – is heard and how they interpret his words will be revealed then.

That’s because at the heart of who they choose as president is how they see their roles as lawmakers and whether they put the city and national interests above personal gain.

There are two candidates for the job, both veteran lawmakers: Starry Lee Wai-king

and Ronick Chan Chun-ying

. Lee has been a Legco member since 2008 and Chan, since 2016. The two come from drastically different backgrounds.