Chief Executive Carrie Lam has said that elections are not the only way to participate in politics, and her government has recruited more talent from Hong Kong’s political parties than its predecessors.

She said that recent changes to the electoral system, with their emphasis on patriots governing the city, had provided a guarantee of governance, but in order to smoothly implement policies, an abundance of talent was needed.

Lam was speaking at a Saturday seminar hosted by the pro-establishment Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong. DAB party elder Tam Yiu-chung, who is also a member of the National People’s Congress Standing Committee, said that he did not believe her attendance was intended to canvass for votes in a re-election bid. Lam was supporting his party’s holding of a political seminar, he said.

The incumbent chief executive has not yet indicated whether she intends to seek another term, with her current term set to expire in July 2022.

At the same seminar, the deputy director of Beijing’s liaison office in Hong Kong, He Jing, said that those entering politics must be brave enough to fight against actions which damage the governing principle of “one country, two systems” adopted by the city.

He gave a speech saying that the electoral changes had given Hong Kong a democratic, open and progressive system which suited the city’s actual situation.

The deputy director said that those joining politics must have a firm and unambiguous patriotic stance. They must also respect and safeguard the country’s basic system and Hong Kong’s constitutional order, He said.

Seventy people participated in the seminar, with 20 of them thought to be members of the DAB. Many political assistants were also spotted in attendance, including one who works for Hong Kong’s number two official, Chief Secretary Matthew Cheung.

Apple Daily was refused entry, with the organizers saying that only invited media outlets were allowed to cover the event.

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