Connect with the public

  • 1846 - 1944
    Early Development of the Legislature
  • 1858
    Excerpts of the proceedings of LegCo were published for the first time in the Gazette.

    Members of the public authorized by Members or the Governor were admitted to sittings of LegCo for the first time.
  • From 1890 onwards
    Official Record of Proceedings of the Legislative Council, the official verbatim reports of LegCo sittings, was published.
  • 1945 - 1983
    Post-war Development of the Legislature
  • 1963
    The Office of the Unofficial Members of the Executive and Legislative Councils ("UMELCO") was established to strengthen communication between Unofficial Members of the two Councils and promote closer relationship between them and the public.
  • 1972
    For the first time, Chinese was used at the sittings of LegCo with the provision of simultaneous interpretation.
  • 1983
    Special Finance Committee meetings were opened to the public.
  • 1984 - 1997
    The Legislature Before the Handover
  • 1984
    Regular committee meetings were opened to the public.
  • 1985
    An analog recording system was introduced to produce audio records of LegCo sittings.

    Chinese version of the Official Record of Proceedings of the Legislative Council was published.
  • 1986
    With the first batch of elected Members in LegCo, UMELCO was renamed "OMELCO", i.e. Office of Members of the Executive and Legislative Councils.
  • 1989
    New legislation was published in both Chinese and English in compliance with the Official Languages (Amendment) Ordinance.
  • 1993
    Following the membership separation of the Executive and Legislative Councils, OMELCO was renamed "OMLEGCO", i.e. Office of Members of the Legislative Council, to reflect that the support services of the Secretariat were provided to LegCo Members only.
  • 1994
    The Legislative Council Commission was established under The Legislative Council Commission Ordinance as a statutory body independent of the Government. Its main function is to provide administrative support and services to LegCo through the LegCo Secretariat.

    The Public Information Division was formed under the LegCo Secretariat to handle enquiries from the press and the public.
  • 1995
    The LegCo Library was open. Members of the public could access records and papers of open meetings of the Council and its committees.
  • 1996 - 1998
    Transitional Years - The Provisional Legislative Council
  • 1996
    The Website of LegCo was launched.

    The InfoFax Service was introduced to provide the public with information on a fax-on-demand basis.
  • 1998 -
    Legislative Council of the HKSAR
  • 1998
    The first LegCo Building Open Day was held.
  • 1999
    The Research and Library Information System was launched to provide bilingual search and access to all unclassified documents of LegCo to visitors of the LegCo Library.
  • 2003
    A digital recording system was installed in the LegCo Library to store audio records of all LegCo open meetings for public reference and retrieval.
  • 2006
    An audio webcast system was launched via the LegCo Website to broadcast open meetings of LegCo and its committees.
  • 2010
    Simultaneous sign language interpretation was provided during the question session of LegCo meetings, the Chief Executive's Question and Answer Session and Policy Address, and the Financial Secretary's Budget Speech. The service was expanded to cover all LegCo meetings in 2013.
  • 2011
    New and enhanced education facilities and services were provided to the public in the LegCo Complex.

    The Website was revamped to enhance the dissemination of information, and a mobile version of the website was launched.
  • 2012
    The LegCo Archives which preserves and provides access to archival records and material was established and open to the public.
  • 2013
    The Legislative Council Commission conducted its first ever public consultation exercise to gauge public views on the policy on public access to information.

    Simultaneous Putonghua interpretation service was provided during all LegCo meetings, and meetings of the Finance Committee and its two Subcommittees and the House Committee.
  • 2014
    A YouTube channel for posting video records of Council meetings and a Flickr photo album for posting photos of Members' official events and activities were set up.

    A mobile application was launched to disseminate information about Members and meetings and activities of the Council and its committees.
  • 2015
    A new electronic system for archival records of the legislature was launched to facilitate information search and retrieval.
  • 2016
    The mobile application was upgraded to include two new functions, namely "Press Release" and "Push Notification" to provide the public using mobile devices a quick access to the most up-to-date information about the Council.
  • 2017
    The provision of translation/interpretation services for ethnic minority deputations at committee meetings was formalized.
  • 2019
    Simultaneous sign language interpretation service was extended to cover meetings of the Panel on Welfare Services and the Panel on Education.
  • 2021
    The Library system was revamped substantially to facilitate searching of library collections and LegCo e-records.
  • 2022
    The Website of LegCo was revamped substantially to further enhance the dissemination of information.