Chief Executive Carrie Lam today said it would be unreasonable to deny Hong Kong permanent residents living on the Mainland the chance to vote in the city’s elections.

Mrs Lam made the statement while responding to media enquiries ahead of the Executive Council meeting this morning.

She said: “The large number of Hong Kong permanent residents who are registered voters and are eligible to vote, are now spending a lot of time in the Mainland, whether it is for work, investment or study. That is a reality.

“So these people will also expect that they have a chance to vote in a general election in Hong Kong because they still have very strong connections with Hong Kong.

“And for argument's sake, nowadays some of the policies of the Hong Kong SAR Government do have a Mainland dimension and these people are very concerned about any such policies.

“So it would be unreasonable to deny them of a chance to vote and this is what I meant by the public or society's expectations.”

Mrs Lam added that any changes to voting arrangements must go through the legislative process.

“Any change in the voting arrangements, especially to allow voting to take place outside of Hong Kong, will require a legislative amendment.

“So of course, the public will have a chance to express their views. Similarly, the Legislative Council will have a chance to decide whether they will support this particular measure.”