The Electoral Affairs Commission (EAC) of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) is inviting members of the public to give their views on its provisional recommendations concerning the election.

Speaking at a press conference, Justice Woo Kwokhing, chairman of the EAC, said the EAC has to abide by the statutory criteria in making recommendations on the boundaries and names of the 400 constituencies.

"We have to ensure that the population in each constituency is as near the population quota a practicable, having regard to its community identities, local ties and physical features such as size, shape, accessibility and development," Woo said.

The EAC will host two public forums to listen to views on Jan. 23 and Jan. 24. The consultation will end on Feb. 4, this year.

He called on residents to attend public forums and to hand in their written presentations by the deadline.

In the current exercise, the boundaries of 169 constituencies in the 18 districts have been modified in order to fulfill the population quota requirement whilst 13 other constituencies have been subject to minor adjustments related to geographical or development factors.

On the naming or renaming of constituencies, Woo said the EAC would take into account major features, roads or residential settlements in the constituency concerned, as well as the views of relevant District Offices before reaching its decisions.

The EAC will finalize its recommendations on the delineation and naming of the 400 constituencies in the 18 districts and submit a report to the chief executive by the end of May.

(Xinhua News Agency January 7, 2003)