Legislative Council Complex


The Legislative Council Complex is the headquarters of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong. The complex is located at 1 Legislative Council Road, Central, Hong Kong.
Construction of the LegCo Complex commenced in 2008 and was completed in 2011. It was the first purpose-built building for the Hong Kong legislature.
It forms part of the Central Government Complex.
On 1 July 2019, the building was stormed and briefly-occupied by protesters in the 2019–20 Hong Kong protests.

Overview

The Complex sits on the reclaimed Tamar site, facing Victoria Harbour. Before completion of the complex, the Former Supreme Court Building was used to house the Legislative Council.
The LegCo Complex is composed of the Council Block and the Office Block. Adjoining the Complex are LegCo Garden and LegCo Square. The Complex provides office and conference facilities for staff, visitors, and members of the press.

Facilities

Conference facilities

Council meetings are held in 800 square metre The Chamber. There are also five conference rooms for members to hold open and closed committee meetings.
Public and press galleries are located at the upper level of the Chamber together with three conference rooms for the public and the press to observe proceedings of all Council meetings and open meetings of committees. All seats of the public and press galleries are equipped with headphones for simultaneous interpretation between Cantonese and English.

Media facilities

Media facilities for reporters to cover meetings and activities of the Council include a duplex press room, dedicated TV/radio rooms for electronic news media organisations, and larger photo rooms for photographers and camera crews.

Public facilities

The LegCo Complex incorporates a number of facilities open for visit by the public including a library, an archive, a series of education facilities such as a children's corner, a memory lane, a viewing gallery, an education activities room, and two education galleries.

History

Previous homes of the Legislative Council

Before 2011, the Legislative Council met at other locations:
As part of protests against the 2019 Hong Kong extradition bill on 1 July 2019, a smaller, more-radical group of protesters from the day's march against the central government, angered by the previous crackdowns of peaceful protests by the police and from the lack of a total withdrawal of the bill, gathered around the Legislative Council Complex and, after the police withdrew from the site, stormed the building, using improvised battering rams to break through the glass into the lobby of the building. The protesters gained entrance to the Legislative Council chambers and defaced the walls and symbols of the council with graffiti, some calling out against the SAR and mainland governments, and some against the Hong Kong Police Force. The police regained control of the Legco site by midnight, where by then, most protesters had left the site peacefully. The estimated cost of the damage to the site was HK$10 million, though protesters took care not to damage historical artefacts or the libraries.