Two candidates for the education sector seat in the upcoming Legislative Council election have highlighted Hong Kong’s shrinking student population as a key concern, with one pledging to advocate for the gradual reopening of public institutions to non-locals.

Tang Fei, an incumbent lawmaker from the election committee constituency and a vice-president of the Hong Kong Federation of Education Workers (FEW), alongside Ray Cheung Chak-chung, associate provost of City University and vice-chairman of FEW, will take part in a government-run forum on Wednesday evening.

It was one of eight forums suspended by the government following last week’s deadly blaze at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po, where at least 156 people were killed.

The forums will resume as Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu announced on Tuesday that the election will proceed as scheduled on Sunday.

Tang and Cheung earlier outlined their platforms in separate interviews with the Post.

Tang, a former secondary school head, shifted his focus to contest the education constituency for the December 7 election, after the incumbent representative Chu Kwok-keung, a primary school principal and vice-president of the federation, chose not to seek re-election.