New guidelines on election-related activities in respect of the Hong Kong Legislative Council elections was published on Saturday.

The new guidelines will apply to all future Legislative Council elections including the next one in September, said Hong Kong Electoral Affairs Commission Chairman Woo Kwok-hing.

The nomination for the Sept.12 Hong Kong Legislative Council elections will run from July 22 to August 4, and potential candidates should read the new set of Legislative Council election guidelines, said Woo Kwok-hing.

One of the major amendments of the guidelines is to raise the maximum imprisonment term from three to six months for the offense of taking photographs inside a polling station and for offenses relating to the infringement of secrecy of votes. The maximum fine for such offenses remains unchanged at HK$5,000 (US$640).

The maximum penalty for using mobile phones inside a polling station contrary to a direction of the presiding officer remains the same, that is, three months in jail and a HK$5,000 (US$640) fine.

According to the new guidelines, counting of functional constituency votes will be carried out in a central counting station as in the last Legislative Council election.

The guidelines were finalized after a 30-day public consultation exercise ended in April, during which 19 written and oral representations were received.

Tung Chee Hwa Urges Democrats to Partake in Reform

Hong Kong Chief Executive Tung Chee Hwa Saturday urged democrats to accept the National People's Congress Standing Committee's decision on the 2007 and 2008 election arrangements.

While meeting with members from different political groups, Tung said democrats should partake actively in the consultation on Hong Kong's political reform.

The community should deal with the 2007 and 2008 elections first so as to build a solid foundation to move toward the ultimate goal of universal suffrage, he added.

Tung reiterated that freedom of speech is a core value treasured by the community, and that the government will strive to safeguard such freedom.

He pointed out that the government continues to improve education, so as to keep pace with developments in the knowledge-based economy. In the short to medium term, more suitable jobs will be created for low-skilled workers by initiatives such as promoting the Individual Visit Scheme.

(Xinhua News Agency July 11, 2004)