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The following is issued on behalf of the Legislative Council Secretariat:
The Legislative Council will hold a meeting this Wednesday (December 10) at 11 am in the Chamber of the Legislative Council Building. During the meeting, Members will debate a motion on the appointment of a select committee.
The motion, to be moved by Hon Li Fung-ying, states: "That this Council appoints a select committee to inquire into the vetting and approval for Mr Leung Chin-man, former Permanent Secretary for Housing, Planning and Lands (Housing) and Director of Housing, to take up post-service work with New World China Land Limited and other real estate organisations, and whether there was any connection between such work and the major housing or land policies which Mr Leung had taken part in their formulation or execution and decisions which he had made pursuant to such policies while serving as Director of Buildings, Permanent Secretary for Housing, Planning and Lands (Housing) and Director of Housing, that had given rise to any potential or actual conflict of interest, as well as related matters, and based on the results of the above inquiry, to make recommendations on the policies and arrangements governing post-service work of directorate civil servants and other related matters; and that in the performance of its duties the committee be authorised under section 9(2) of the Legislative Council (Powers and Privileges) Ordinance (Cap. 382) to exercise the powers conferred by section 9(1) of that Ordinance."
Members will also debate a motion on promoting infrastructure development. The motion, to be proposed by Ir Dr Hon Raymond Ho, says: "That the international financial tsunami is sweeping across the world, striking the economies of various places including Hong Kong and the situation is very acute, this Council urges the Government to promote infrastructure development with every effort at this critical moment so as to stabilise the economy, increase employment opportunities, enhance the overall competitiveness of Hong Kong and attain sustainable development; to achieve the above objectives, the Government should expeditiously adopt the following measures:
(a) expeditiously implementing the 10 major infrastructure projects;
(b) formulating forward-looking plans as early as possible, and planning future works projects following the 10 major infrastructure projects;
(c) enhancing cooperation between Hong Kong and the Mainland in planning and commencing cross-border infrastructure projects which are beneficial to both places;
(d) implementing public participation and ensuring the smooth implementation of infrastructure projects to achieve sustainable development for Hong Kong;
(e) enhancing coordination among departments to expedite the approval of contracts for small and medium works projects;
(f) commencing more public works projects through public-private partnership;
(g) ensuring a stable amount of work through detailed planning, so as to prevent a cyclical imbalance between the supply and demand in the manpower market; and
(h) strengthening training for young engineers and construction workers."
Dr Hon Pan Pey-chyou, Hon Cheung Hok-ming, Hon Audrey Eu and Hon Lee Wing-tat will move separate amendments to Ir Dr Hon Raymond Ho's motion.
In addition, Members will also debate a motion on raising the limit of university places for publicly-funded bachelor's degree programmes. The motion, to be proposed by Hon Starry Lee, says: "That, in the face of globalisation and being an international city, Hong Kong must enhance the integrated competitiveness of its population and upgrade the academic qualifications of young people, and in order to match the development of a knowledge-based economy, this Council urges the Government to raise the limit of university places for publicly-funded bachelor's degree programmes to allow more students who meet the university admission requirements to enrol in publicly-funded degree programmes, so as to ease the long-standing shortage of articulation places in bachelor's degree programmes for sub-degree graduates, and at the same time, encourage the provision of more private university places to alleviate problems such as the worsening bottleneck in respect of university places available to secondary school graduates upon the implementation of the '3+3+4' academic structure."
Hon Cheung Man-kwong, Hon Ip Kwok-him and Hon Chan Tanya will move separate amendments to Hon Starry Lee's motion.
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).
Members of the public 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. Members of the public can also listen to the meeting via the audio webcast system on the Legislative Council homepage.
Ends/Monday, December 8, 2008
Issued at HKT 17:37
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