The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), the top legislature, on Tuesday announced that electoral conferences for the election of Hong Kong and Macao deputies to the 11th NPC will be held in early January.

The first plenary sessions of the electoral conferences for the NPC deputy elections in Hong Kong and Macao will be held on January 3 and January 5 respectively, the NPC Standing Committee said in a statement released on Tuesday.

According to a resolution adopted at the annual full session of the 10th NPC in March, a maximum of 3,000 deputies to the 11th NPC will be elected as of the end of January 2008.

A draft plan on the election said Hong Kong will elect 36 deputies to the 11th NPC, while Macao will have 12 seats.

In August, the top legislature also approved two member lists of the electoral conferences for the elections of Hong Kong and Macao deputies.

(Xinhua News Agency December 19, 2007)