China's revision of the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) will restructure the electoral system and give the electoral body greater power in picking legislators, in a bid to better serve the general interests of local society, a Chinese official said.

There are four changes to the restructuring – name, number of members, representation in sectors and increased representation within these sectors, according to Zhang Yong, deputy head of the Commission for Legislative Affairs of the NPC Standing Committee.

The Chief Executive Election Committee has been replaced by the Election Committee, and the number of the Committee members has been increased from 1,200 to 1,500, and a fifth sector has been added to include more people representing national interests, according to Zhang. 

Speaking of empowerment, the Election Committee has two new functions – choosing a larger proportion of members of the Legislative Council (LegCo) and nominating all candidates of LegCo members, said Zhang, adding that the Committee retains its function of electing the Chief Executive designate.

"Changes to the electoral system are suited to HKSAR's realities and were made after a thorough look at years of election practices," said Zhang.

With a larger size, Zhang said the Committee can broadly represent people from all walks of life and better reflect the HKSAR society's overall and fundamental interests.

A larger Election Committee better conforms to HKSAR's character as an international, diversified and highly developed capitalist society, and its status as a regional administrative region directly under the jurisdiction of the central government.