A total of 22 nomination letters have been received by Monday since the registration of the election of the Hong Kong deputies to the Tenth National People's Congress (NPC) started on Nov. 4.
Sources from the registry responsible for electing the Hong Kong NPC deputies revealed that some 75 people who intend to run for the election have obtained their forms and 22 of them have submitted the nomination letters to the registry.
Rita Fan, president of the Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR), also came to hand in her nomination letters Monday. Fan has got a total of 46 nominations.
According to the NPC deputies' election rule, those who intend to run for the election must obtain at least 10 nominations from the 955-member Electoral Conference before becoming official candidates.
Fan said the NPC deputies will take very significant work and face many challenges after China entered the WTO.
In this critical time of China's development, she wishes to participate in the NPC affairs on behalf of the Hong Kong people, Fan said.
The registration of qualified nominees started on Nov. 4 and will end on Nov. 18. A total of 36 deputies of the Hong Kong SAR will be then elected.
(Xinhua News Agency November 12, 2002)