7.1 The government of the Union in the periods between Annual General Meetings and the conduct of its business shall be vested in an Executive Committee.

7.2 The formation of the Executive Committee:
(i) The Executive Committee shall consist of at least 5 members and not more than 12 members, including a Chairperson, a Vice-chairperson can be appointed if necessary, and the rest are committee members. They shall be elected annually by secret ballot cast by voting members to be opened at the Annual General Meeting.
(ii) The method for electing the Chairperson and Vice-chairperson (if any) shall be carried out in accordance with Rule 8.1 and Rule 8.2 of this Constitution.
(iii) The Executive Committee shall meet within one month of the Annual General Meeting and shall elect an Honorary Secretary and an Honorary Treasurer from among its members and shall assign specific responsibilities.
(iv) At least 70 percent of the Executive Committee members (one of whom shall be the Chairperson) shall be employed in journalistic work as defined in category (i) of Rule 3.2. Associate, PR and Trainee members shall have no more than one representative each.

7.3 The Executive Committee shall meet at least once a month. One half of the total number of Executive members shall form a quorum. Decisions taken at an Executive Committee meeting will be valid if passed by a majority of votes of all Executive Committee members present.

7.4 In the event of the death, resignation, or dismissal of any member of the Executive Committee between two Annual General Meetings or when, during such period, any officer is unavoidably absent from Hong Kong and such absence is likely to be permanent or unduly prolonged, the candidate who secured the next highest number of votes in the ballot at the last Annual General Meeting shall fill the vacancy. The Executive Committee may, subject to Rule 6, hold a by-election if no such candidate is available.

7.5 In the event of the death, resignation or dismissal of the Chairperson, his/her place shall be taken by the Vice- Chairperson. If there is no Vice- Chairperson or he/she is unwilling to replace the Chairperson, the Executive Committee shall have the power to elect a Chairperson from among the members of the Executive Committee. In the event of the death, resignation or dismissal of the Vice- Chairperson, the Executive Committee shall be empowered to elect a successor from among the members of the Executive Committee.

7.6 The Executive Committee shall pursue the objects of the Union and shall protect its funds against extravagance or misappropriation. It shall give instructions as to the investment of the funds of the Union subject to Rule 9.3.

7.7 The Executive Committee shall appoint an Ethics Committee composed of 2 serving veteran journalists and at least 1 ExCom member at its first meeting after the Annual General Meeting. The Ethics Committee is responsible for following up and investigating complaints that are alleged of violating the Code of Ethics, and making ruling recommendations to the Executive Committee.

7.8 The Executive Committee shall give instructions to the Honorary Secretary and other officers for the conduct of the affairs of the Union. It may appoint organisers and such clerical staff as it may consider necessary and dismiss such organisers and staff for reasons deemed good and sufficient. It shall appoint sub-committees where necessary to carry out the routine work of the Union.

7.9 The Executive Committee may suspend and dismiss any officer or Executive Committee member of the Union for neglect of duty, dishonesty, incompetence, refusal to carry out the decisions of the Executive Committee, or for any other reason which it deems good and sufficient in the interests of the Union. Any officer or Executive Committee member so punished shall have the right of appeal to the Annual or Extraordinary General Meeting, whose decision shall be final.

7.10 The Executive Committee may reprimand any member who is proved, to the satisfaction of the Committee, to have been guilty of conduct prejudicial to the interests of the Union, or may suspend or expel such member from the Union. Any member so reprimanded, suspended or expelled shall have the right to appeal to the Appeals Tribunal and then to the Annual or an Extraordinary General Meeting, whose decision shall be final.

7.11 Any decision of the Executive Committee shall be binding on all members of the Union.

7.12 Between Annual General Meetings the Executive Committee shall interpret the rules, when necessary, and determine any point which the rules do not adequately cover.

7.13 All officers and members of the Executive Committee must be fully paid up with their subscriptions and contributions.

7.14 The Executive Committee shall have the power to open branches. The Executive Committee shall have the power to decide the amount of money to be retained by branches or paid out of General Funds to branches.