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The following is issued on behalf of the Legislative Council Secretariat:
The Legislative Council will hold a meeting this Wednesday (March 4) at 11 am in the Chamber of the Legislative Council Building. During the meeting, Members will debate a motion on actively implementing complementary policies for the Outline of the Plan for the Reform and Development of the Pearl River Delta.
The motion, to be moved by Hon Wong Ting-kwong, states: "That this Council urges the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region to expeditiously formulate corresponding complementary policies for the Outline of the Plan for the Reform and Development of the Pearl River Delta (2008-2020) promulgated earlier by the Central Government, so as to facilitate Hong Kong¡¦s closer co-operation with Guangdong Province and the Macao Special Administrative Region and promote Hong Kong's economic and social development; such policies include:
(a) expediting the planning and construction of the Hong Kong Section of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge (HZMB) as well as the related connecting infrastructure works for HZMB, and at the same time actively studying the development of a bridgehead economy at the landing point of HZMB in Hong Kong and the implementation of "free flow of vehicles" between Guangdong and Hong Kong, so as to fully utilise HZMB;
(b) expediting transport connection works between the airports in Guangdong and Hong Kong, and expeditiously implementing the proposal to construct a high-speed rail link connecting the airports in Hong Kong and Shenzhen;
(c) actively discussing with the Government of Guangdong Province to clearly delineate the roles and division of work between the ports and terminals in Guangdong and those in Hong Kong, so that a new setting will be formed in the Pearl River Delta Region (PRDR) under which there is a clear demarcation of work among the ports, complementarity of edge and co-development;
(d) strengthening co-operation among the exhibition and convention industries in PRDR, and capitalising on Hong Kong's edge to turn the territory into a capital of international exhibitions and sales;
(e) strengthening co-operation between Guangdong and Hong Kong in improving the overall water quality in PRDR and reducing the overall volume of water pollution, and at the same time establishing a sound system for the monitoring and prevention of air pollution, as well as striving to solve the problem of atmospheric haze;
(f) helping higher education institutions and education providers in Hong Kong to run education institutions independently in PRDR;
(g) deepening the implementation of the Mainland and Hong Kong Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement by expediting mutual recognition of professional qualifications in Guangdong and Hong Kong as well as lowering the thresholds of practice in PRDR for Hong Kong professionals, so as to foster the expansion of Hong Kong's service industries into PRDR;
(h) formulating focused facilitating measures to provide convenience for PRDR residents to invest in Hong Kong's stock market, and enhancing efforts in Guangdong Province to provide information on and publicise Hong Kong stocks, so as to prepare for launching the through train scheme for Guangdong's and Hong Kong's stock markets;
(i) strengthening various services for Hong Kong residents working and residing in PRDR, and actively considering enhancing the functions of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government¡¦s Economic and Trade Office in Guangdong;
(j) strengthening tourism co-operation among Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao, and assisting Hong Kong's tourism enterprises in operating in PRDR; and
(k) considering setting up a Guangdong/Hong Kong/Macao Leaders' Conference to strengthen co-operation among the three places."
Dr Hon Samson Tam, Hon Emily Lau and Hon Mrs Regina Ip will move separate amendments to Hon Wong Ting-kwong's motion.
Members will also debate a motion on comprehensively improving the effectiveness of Integrated Family Service Centres. The motion, to be moved by Hon Wong Sing-chi, states: "That, as the financial tsunami has brought about a severe economic winter and rapidly deteriorating atmosphere in the community, the situation of the multi-stressed and potentially high-risk families is even more acute; the Integrated Family Service Centres (IFSCs) are the key players of the front-line social service teams which respond to family crises and prevent family tragedies, whether they can smoothly operate in responding promptly and properly to such social crises is indeed critical to alleviating people's hardship and fostering an overall harmonious atmosphere in the community; recently there have been ample evidence and voices indicating that if IFSCs are to achieve their functions under the current service mode, the Government has to adjust their service concept and operation mode, in addition to allocating additional resources to IFSCs; in this connection, this Council urges the Government to adopt the following measures:
(a) setting up a central mechanism to regularly and comprehensively assess and co-ordinate the support and services provided by various departments;
(b) assessing and studying afresh the mission and objectives of IFSCs, and ensuring that the information and data collected through the relevant study must be made public subject to consideration of privacy protection;
(c) reviewing afresh the staff establishment of IFSCs to ensure that there is sufficient manpower to adequately meet the needs of potentially high-risk families, and providing preventive and support services;
(d) clearly defining the respective roles of the Social Welfare Department (SWD) and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and their division of responsibilities in respect of IFSCs;
(e) examining in depth the difficulties faced by staff of SWD and NGOs working in IFSCs (such as being required to handle non-professional clerical work, and being authorised to vet and approve requests for social resources, etc), and formulating measures for improvement;
(f) comprehensively reviewing the performance pledge of IFSCs, and setting a service standard that can sensitively and accurately reflect the needs of potentially high-risk families; and
(g) formulating a comprehensive policy on family service, particularly focusing on the needs of multi-stressed and potentially high-risk families, and exploring how to support and facilitate the healthy development of families in Hong Kong."
Hon Cheung Kwok-che and Hon Starry Lee will move separate amendments to Hon Wong Sing-chi's motion.
Meanwhile, Members will move a motion for the adjournment of the Council. The motion, to be moved by Hon Albert Ho, states: "That this Council do now adjourn for the purpose of debating the following issue: The situation faced by Hong Kong people (including Legislative Council Members, District Council members, members of political parties, people from non-government organisations and journalists) for being persistently refused entry by the Macao Government."
During the meeting, Members will ask the Government 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, March 2, 2009
Issued at HKT 18:41
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