Hong Kong lawmakers’ monthly pay tops HK$110K after unannounced 1.6% salary rise

Hong Kong lawmakers have been given a pay rise retroactive to October 1 after a one-year pay freeze, bringing their monthly basic salary to more than HK$110,000.

Outgoing and newly elected Hong Kong lawmakers meet the press on December 9, 2025. Photo: HKFP.

Sing Tao Daily reported on Tuesday morning that legislators had received an unannounced 1.6 per cent pay rise, although the Legislative Council updated figures on its website.

Following the pay rise, lawmakers will receive a basic monthly salary of HK$110,053, an increase of HK$1,740. The maximum medical allowance will also be increased by 1.6 per cent to HK$38,500 per year.

The basic salary of Legislative Council President Starry Lee is double that of other lawmakers, bringing her basic monthly salary to HK$221,060.

Chan Chun-ying, chairman of LegCo’s House Committee, receives 1.5 times the basic monthly salary of other lawmakers, earning HK$165,800 per month after the pay rise.

Lawmakers who currently serve as members of the Executive Council, including Kenneth Lau, Stanley Ng and Gary Chan, earn less compared to other legislators. Their monthly basic salary will rise from HK$72,530 to HK$73,690.

‘Justify their pay’

Hong Kong’s legislature was expanded from 60 to 70 seats in 2012. In 2021, Beijing overhauled the electoral system for the legislature, expanding it to 90 seats. Most traditional opposition figures remain in prison, have left politics, or have fled into self-imposed exile.

Hong Kong legislator Starry Lee shakes hands with other lawmakers after being elected as Legislative Council president on January 8, 2026. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.

Earlier in October, Rita Fan, the first president of Hong Kong’s legislature after the 1997 Handover, said on RTHK that it was costing too much to sustain 90 lawmakers in the Legislative Council, citing the opinions of “a friend.”

Sing Tao Daily reported on Tuesday that Fan’s remarks were widely discussed in political circles, and the public expected lawmakers’ performance to better “justify their pay.”

Earlier this year, Hong Kong approved a 2 per cent pay rise for civil servants, judges and judicial officers, and a 1.3 per cent pay rise for top ministers and other political appointees.