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The following is issued on behalf of the Legislative Council Secretariat:
The Legislative Council will hold a meeting on Wednesday (April 26) at 11am in the Chamber of the Legislative Council Building. During the meeting, Members will debate a motion on universal retirement protection.
The motion, to be proposed by Hon Lee Cheuk-yan, says: "That this Council urges the Government to set up a sustainable universal retirement protection scheme, so that all senior citizens can enjoy financial security to maintain a basic standard of living immediately after retirement."
Hon Howard Young will move an amendment to Hon Lee Cheuk-yanˇ¦s motion.
Members will also debate a motion on donation of organs. The motion, to be moved by Hon Bernard Chan, states: "That, as the situation of organ donation in Hong Kong is still not satisfactory despite many years of publicity, and the number of organs donated is not sufficient to meet the demands of those waiting for organ transplants, this Council urges the Government to immediately conduct a comprehensive review on the current policy on organ donation, with a view to formulating a package of effective measures for needy patients to receive as soon as possible suitable organs to extend their lives; such measures should include: deploying more resources to improve the methods currently adopted by the Government, the Hospital Authority and the Hong Kong Medical Association for collecting peopleˇ¦s wish to become organ donors and for registering their information, so as to enable the public to sign up as donors more easily; enhancing the information processing system, e.g. establishing a back-end computer system to more effectively process the information of all organ donors in Hong Kong, so as to facilitate easy access to such information by authorized persons; as well as stepping up publicity efforts on organ donation and encouraging the public to actively sign up as organ donors."
Meanwhile, Hon Mrs Sophie Leung will move a resolution under the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the Peopleˇ¦s Republic of China to amend the Rules of Procedure of the Legislative Council.
On bills, the Betting Duty (Amendment) Bill 2006; the Freight Containers (Safety) (Amendment) Bill 2006; and the Revenue Bill 2006 will be introduced into the Council for First and Second Readings. Debates on the Bills will be adjourned.
During the meeting, Members will also ask the Administration 20 questions on various policy areas, six of which require oral replies.
The agenda of the above meeting can be obtained via the Legislative Council InfoFax Service (Tel: 2869 9568) or the Legislative Council web site (http://www.legco.gov.hk).
People are welcome to observe the proceedings of the meeting from the public galleries of the Legislative Council Chamber. They may reserve seats by calling 2869 9399 during office hours. Seats will be allocated on a first-come-first-served basis.
Ends/Monday, April 24, 2006
Issued at HKT 16:36
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