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The following is issued on behalf of Legislative Council Secretariat:
The Legislative Council will hold a meeting this Wednesday (April 28) at 11am in the Chamber of the Legislative Council Building. During the meeting, Members will debate a motion on strengthening the regulation of the sale of residential properties.
The motion, to be moved by Hon James To, states: "That the sale of residential properties in Hong Kong has all along relied on advertising and publicity, sales brochures, visits to show flats, real estate agents and newspapers to provide information about properties and the property market to the public, and while the Government, The Real Estate Developers Association of Hong Kong ('REDA'), the Estate Agents Authority ('EAA') and the Consumer Council have repeatedly laid down guidelines, launched publicity and issued reminders, cases of advertisements with ambiguous content, sales brochures without clear and detailed information, discrepancies between show flats and actual flats for sale, confusing market information, etc. still continue to occur; as such, this Council urges the Government to adopt the following measures to enhance the transparency and fairness in property sales and protect the interests of home buyers:
(a) on the basis of the Sales Descriptions of Uncompleted Residential Properties Bill which was published as a White Bill in 2000, to introduce legislation to regulate the sale of uncompleted residential properties;
(b) to revise the 'Consent Scheme' by incorporating into its conditions all the relevant guidelines drawn up by REDA, and prescribing more detailed requirements for compliance by developers, including strengthening the restrictions on the content of promotional materials and sales brochures as well as tightening the requirements on show flats, and requiring developers to publish on their web pages property sales information, including the full version of the sales brochure, the content of land leases and deeds of mutual covenant, every price list, records of sale and purchase agreements and completion of transactions, information on connected party transactions, information on related transactions, and details of internal and private sales, etc., with a view to providing clear and detailed information, and hence avoiding misunderstandings and preventing the public from being easily confused by rumours in the market; and
(c) to step up inspections, remind estate agency practitioners to comply with the codes and circulars drawn up by EAA, and penalise the non-complying practitioners, so as to enhance the credibility of the estate agency trade."
Hon Wong Kwok-hing will move an amendment to Hon James To's motion.
Members will also debate a motion on eradicating plutocratic monopoly and promoting social harmony.
The motion, to be moved by Hon Lee Cheuk-yan, states: "That the Hong Kong Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies of The Chinese University of Hong Kong has earlier published the findings of an opinion poll, confirming that Hong Kong is not a harmonious society and estimating that there are 1.5 million people in favour of resorting to radical means to press the Government to respond to their demands, which tolls the death bell for the Government's credibility of its governance; this Council considers that the fundamental reasons contributing to social disharmony in Hong Kong are the plutocratic monopoly of political and economic powers and the Government's implementation of policies which are biased towards the interests of people who are powerful and wealthy, resulting in the aggravation of class conflicts and the worsening of confrontation between the Government and the people; in this connection, this Council urges that the Government should not continue to disregard social crises and leave the people to be trapped in a state of worries, and must change its course to make fundamental reforms, including abolishing the political privileges of functional bodies and formulating measures to narrow the gap between the rich and the poor, maintain social mobility and ensure fair competition, thereby alleviating the deep-rooted conflicts in Hong Kong and promoting social harmony."
Hon Ronny Tong and Hon Emily Lau will move separate amendments to Hon Lee Cheuk-yan's motion.
On bills, the Motor Vehicle Idling (Fixed Penalty) Bill will be introduced into the Council for First and Second Readings. Second Reading debate on the bill will be adjourned. Meanwhile, Members will resume Second Reading on the Employment (Amendment) Bill 2009. If the bill is supported by Members and receives its Second Reading, it will then go through the Committee Stage and be read the third time.
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 (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, April 26, 2010
Issued at HKT 18:10
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