Starry Lee Wai-king, a Hong Kong member of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress. (PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)

Starry Lee Wai-king, a Hong Kong member of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, said she will strive to reflect public opinion regarding the legislation of Article 23 of the Basic Law to the central government during the upcoming two sessions.

The two sessions — the annual meetings of the nation’s top legislature, National People’s Congress, and the nation’s top political advisory body, the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference — will start in Beijing on March 5 and 4 respectively. At a media briefing on Thursday, Lee revealed that she will depart for the sessions on Sunday.

Lee said she will submit proposals aimed at strengthening the city’s position as a global financial center and further facilitating the country’s goal of becoming a financial powerhouse.

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Her proposals include launching an IPO stock connect, enabling both Hong Kong and Chinese mainland investors to subscribe to newly issued stocks, and optimizing the trading of exchange-traded funds and incorporating real estate investment trusts into the mutual access between the financial markets of Hong Kong and the mainland.

Lee said she sees the two sessions as an opportunity to facilitate two-way communication

Regarding the local economy and residents’ livelihoods, Lee expressed her hope that Hong Kong can complement the strengths of other cities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area to jointly develop an ecological ecosystem.

Citing previous visits to some GBA cities, Lee noted that cities like Jiangmen have advanced eco-friendly technology and land sources for turning waste into valuable resources, such as energy for the electricity network. Through mutually beneficial cooperation with these cities, Hong Kong could better deal with its municipal solid waste.

Lee said she sees the two sessions as an opportunity to facilitate two-way communication, adding that she will fulfill her duty to convey the voices of Hong Kong residents to the central authorities, while sharing the spirit of the State leaders’ speeches and the focal points of national development with the Hong Kong community.

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In her opinion, the two sessions receive the attention of people from around the country and “of course from Hong Kong residents”.

Hong Kong enjoys the strong support of the motherland and is closely connected to the world. The city’s further development of its economy and of people’s livelihoods relies on the support of the country, she said.

Previously, the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong, the city’s biggest political party of which Lee is a former chair, announced that its members attending the two sessions will put forward around 30 proposals.

Contact the writer at amberwu@chinadailyhk.com