Delegates in China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of have begun registering for election to the National People's Congress, the country's top legislature.

The NPC will sit in BEIJING in March.

President of the Hong Kong Legislative Council, RITA FAN, a serving NPC deputy, was among the first group of 16 candidates to register.

I will convey the views of people in Hong Kong to the mainland and bring the voices of people in the mainland back to Hong Kong, so that we can enhance our mutual understanding, and deepen the cooperation between Hong Kong and the mainland.

The election will be held on January 25. A total of 36 Hong Kong deputies will be elected to the NPC, which will discuss state affairs.

According to the Conference for Electing Hong Kong Deputies to the 11th NPC, Hong Kong residents of Chinese citizenship aged 18 or above are eligible to contest for the candidacy of NPC deputies.

They need to obtain at least 10 nominations from the 1,200-member electoral conference for their registrations to become effective.