Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam has said she will lead the electoral overhaul by speeding up the relevant legal process to ensure only patriots could govern the city.

She told state mouthpieces Wen Wei Po, Ta Kung Pao and the Hong Kong Commercial Daily that the government must implement the local legislations related to the overhaul and hold three elections within the next 12 months. To achieve this would involve changes to more than 20 laws.

The government intended to include all the changes in one bill, with the Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau having launched a task force and the Law Drafting Division of the Department of Justice having already started the relevant work, Lam said.

She would personally lead the work, which includes drafting the bill, listening to opinions and explaining information to the public, because the matter — like the national security law — was too important and could not be handed to others, Lam said.

Last week, Beijing announced fundamental changes to Hong Kong’s election systems, introducing new measures to restrict pro-democracy candidates from winning seats in the legislature or influencing the selection of the city’s leader. A new committee to vet candidates would be of a higher ranking than existing returning officers, Lam said.

Lam said she received approval from Legislative Council President Andrew Leung that the bill would be fast-tracked and additional time would be allowed for meetings.

Other relevant work to be completed within 12 months included voter registrations, candidate nominations, the picking of election dates and holding the elections, Lam added.

Lam, who has not made clear her intention to run for a second term, told the newspapers that the chief executive must love China and love Hong Kong, be trusted by the central government, have capability to govern and be loved by the people.

She has faced the most challenging situation since the 1997 handover, Lam said, adding that the leader of Hong Kong must also be determined in safeguarding national security while making sure the city prospers economically and people’s livelihoods are improved.

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