Voting plan for HK residents on mainland to be released

A plan to allow Hong Kong residents on the Chinese mainland to cast their votes in the upcoming Legislative Council election at the city's closed checkpoints will be released this week, revealed Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor on Tuesday.

The plan, a one-off measure, will exempt those Hong Kong residents from mandatory quarantine after the voting when returning to the Chinese mainland. And residents who wish to vote have to register and indicate where they would like to cast their votes in advance, Lam said.

Lam said the makeshift polling stations will be set up in those closed checkpoints. Since February 2020, Hong Kong has closed its land ports with the Chinese mainland, leaving only Shenzhen Bay checkpoint.

And those entering these polling stations to vote will have to return to the mainland after voting and will not be allowed to enter the community.

Hong Kong will hold its legislative election on Dec 19, in which over 4 million registered voters will return 90 lawmakers.

According to the latest national census released in May, there were over 371,000 Hong Kong residents living on the Chinese mainland, a 58.15 percent jump compared with the previous census in 2010.