Lawmakers risk dressing down if they don’t smarten up

The Legislative Council’s rules committee on Friday officially proposed a new requirement for lawmakers to dress up for council meetings, with any found to be too scruffy at risk of being shown the door.

Sportswear would be out, no jeans allowed, and anyone caught wearing a pair of trainers would find themselves in trouble.

If the Legco president didn’t like the look of what a member was wearing, he or she would be able to order them to get changed. Anyone who refused could be booted out.

But the dress code would only apply to full council meetings on Wednesdays and Thursdays, with legislators presumably allowed to turn up in whatever they want at other times.

Another new rule being proposed is for councillors to have their pay docked if they miss a meeting without a good reason and the proceedings are adjourned due to a lack of quorum.

The rules committee envisages a whole day’s pay being deducted, that’s HK$3,400 at present.

There is also a plan to ban councillors from displaying placards and banners from their seats when it is not their turn to speak.

The pro-Beijing legislature also passed new rule changes in March, cutting down the length of time members are allow to speak, and introducing fines and suspensions for any who commit “misconduct”.