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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 17) at 11 am in the Chamber of the Legislative Council Building. During the meeting, Members will debate a motion on adding impetus for promoting upward social mobility.
The motion, to be moved by Hon Mrs Sophie Leung, states: "That, the subject of 'upward social mobility' has recently become the concern of various sectors of the community; upward social mobility involves factors such as personal ability and attitude, etc., and government support is also indispensible; in this connection, this Council urges the Government:
(a) to promote education which is steered by 'inspiration' in place of 'impartation' mode of teaching, to develop creativity and independent analytical ability among students, with a view to establishing proper attitudes towards life;
(b) to expand the types of existing education programmes, promote diversified development, increase the opportunities for young people to study abroad and participate in summer exchange programmes and on-the-job training, etc., and provide further support to young people from poor families, so as to enhance the quality of education for the whole community;
(c) to encourage the public to fulfil their personal potentials and avoid introducing policies which impede the fulfilment of potentials;
(d) to promote in the Government and various sectors of the community the development of a 'from the heart' attitude of doing things, consolidate Hong Kong's core values of 'being proactive and progressive', and encourage young people to strive harder for improvement and self-reliance, so as to prevent the development of a mentality of dependency;
(e) to promote upward social mobility through developing the economy and new industries;
(f) to assist the younger generation in purchasing their homes through measures such as revitalising the secondary market of Home Ownership Scheme flats and re-launching the Home Starter Loan Scheme, etc.; and
(g) to establish communication channels such as new media for young people to express views and actively participate in social affairs."
Hon Frederick Fung, Hon Lee Wing-tat, Hon Cheung Kwok-che, Hon Wong Sing-chi, Hon Miriam Lau, Hon Ronny Tong, Hon Chan Kin-por and Hon Starry Lee will move separate amendments to Hon Mrs Sophie Leung's motion.
Members will debate another motion on supporting the market for traders running small businesses. The motion, to be moved by Hon Tommy Cheung, says: "That, as the Hong Kong economy has yet to see a strong recovery, and the rents and operating costs in the private sector have remained high in recent years, together with ever increasing prices, the market for small businesses has suffered a severe blow, and this has not only increased the life stress of the grassroots, but has also reduced their chances of achieving self-reliance, making it difficult to improve the unemployment situation; as such, this Council urges the Government to support the market for traders running small businesses, so as to preserve their characteristic of providing quality goods at low prices and serve the grassroots, thereby increasing job opportunities; the relevant measures should include:
(a) to revitalise hawker stalls by expeditiously allocating no less than 70% of the vacant on-street fixed hawker pitches to the existing registered assistants at fixed hawker pitches for running businesses through priority balloting, so as to enable the registered assistants who are familiar with the hawking trade and the stall environment to start businesses on the same streets or in the same districts, so as to bring vitality to the hawker market;
(b) to increase the room for survival for licensed itinerant hawkers, reasonably reduce the number of illegal hawking blackspots, and study the designation of proposed hawking locations with time limits or conditions, and publish the list of locations concerned through various means, including facsimiles or telephone-recorded messages, for access by itinerant hawkers;
(c) to strive to preserve the culture of 'dai pai dong' open-air bazaars, to tie in with the promotion focus of the tourism industry and, apart from improving the sanitary facilities of the existing 'dai pai dongs' and planning and developing them afresh, to expeditiously study subsidising the development of 'dai pai dongs' or open-air markets in remote areas, so as to stimulate the economic activities of the neighbouring communities and create job opportunities for residents in remote areas;
(d) to affirm the position and function of public markets as facilities serving the grassroots and determine future rent adjustments by using the affordability of the grassroots as one of the principles, so as to ensure that small traders can continue to capitalise on their selling point of providing quality goods at low prices to counter rent increase by The Link and monopolisation by supermarkets; and
(e) to immediately implement a public market enhancement policy and proactively allocate resources to improve the design and business environment of the public markets, including bearing the installation and maintenance costs for air-conditioning facilities in public markets, so as to enhance the competitiveness of small traders."
Hon Frederick Fung, Hon Fred Li, Hon Wong Yung-kan, Hon Paul Tse and Dr Hon Priscilla Leung will move separate amendments to Hon Tommy Cheung's motion.
Meanwhile, Hon Miriam Lau will move a resolution under the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance to extend the period for amending the Designation of Libraries Order 2010, laid on the table of the Legislative Council on March 3, 2010, to the meeting of April 21, 2010.
On Government motion, Secretary for Food and Health will move a resolution under the Pharmacy and Poisons Ordinance to seek the Council's approval to the Pharmacy and Poisons (Amendment) Regulation 2010 and the Poisons List (Amendment) Regulation 2010, which were made by the Pharmacy and Poisons Board on February 22, 2010.
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 ( 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 web broadcast system on the Legislative Council homepage.
Ends/Monday, March 15, 2010
Issued at HKT 18:13
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