Hong Kong’s class of lawmakers join week-long Beijing study tour to learn about national development

Hong Kong’s Legislative Council (LegCo) has headed to Beijing for a week-long study tour to learn about China’s development, the president of the legislature has said. Hong Kong lawmakers taking a group photo before heading off to Beijing for a study tour on July 19, 2026. Photo: Starry Lee, via Facebook. Starry Lee, president of the Legislative Council, said in a Facebook post on Sunday that this is the first time an entire class of lawmakers has gone to Beijing together for a “historical” study trip. “We are filled with anticipation. We will devote ourselves to our studies and make earnest observations,” Lee wrote in Chinese, adding that the trip was of “immense significance.” All but one of the city’s 89 lawmakers are attending the trip. Legislator Ginny Wan did not join the Beijing tour, Sing Tao Daily reported. The LegCo secretariat said in a reply to media outlets that Wan had notified president Lee of her absence in advance, and that Lee had accepted her explanation. Wan, a lawyer and a Hong Kong deputy to the National People’s Congress of China, was selected a legislator in the Election Committee constituency in January. Lawmaker Ginny Wan. Photo: Ginny Wan, via Facebook. A group photo taken of the lawmakers before they set off for the trip, posted by Starry Lee, showed six lawmakers missing. But local media reported that five of them traveled to Beijing themselves and later joined the rest of their colleagues. There are currently 89 lawmakers in the legislature following William Wong’s resignation in early July. Wong, who was an Election Committee constituency lawmaker, stepped down from the post after his drink driving arrest. ‘A good time’ to learn about China The LegCo president Lee said on Facebook that the legislature had done significant work over the past six months marking milestones of Hong Kong’s integration with China. LegCo president Starry Lee at the 8th Legislative Council’s first meeting on January 14, 2025. File photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. She said lawmakers produced a research report for the government on Hong Kong’s first five-year plan, and hosted an extra meeting before the Beijing trip break to review a bill for the new Huanggang Port. The LegCo is currently on its summer recess. Therefore, it is now “a good time” for lawmakers to visit mainland China and understand the “latest national policies,” Lee said, adding that she believes “the first-hand information” learned through the study tour will help lawmakers in their work. Lee said legislators will visit the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office, as well as attend seminars on China’s ideologies, national security, five-year plans, foreign relations and China’s legal system. They will also learn about the Chinese Communist Party’s history, as well as its grassroots governance and public service models, Lee added. Safeguard press freedom; keep HKFP free for all readers by supporting our team Support HKFP | Policies & Ethics | Error/typo? | Contact | Newsletter | Transparency & Annual Report | Apps Make a one-off donation. Irene Chan is a reporter at Hong Kong Free Press and has an interest in covering political and social change. She previously worked at Initium Media as chief editor for Hong Kong news and was a community organiser at the Society for Community Organisation serving the underprivileged. She has a bachelor’s degree in Journalism from Fudan University and a master’s degree in social work from the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Irene is the recipient of two Society of Publishers in Asia (SOPA) awards and three honourable mentions for her investigative, feature and video reporting. She also received a Human Rights Press Award for multimedia reporting and an honourable mention for feature writing. More by Irene Chan