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The following is issued on behalf of LegCo Secretariat:
The Legislative Council will hold a meeting this Wednesday (June 30) at 11 am in the Chamber of the Legislative Council Building. During the meeting, Members will debate a motion on safeguarding Hong Kong people's freedom of expression.
The motion, to be moved by Hon Cheung Man-kwong, states, "That, the activities held by Hong Kong people this year in remembrance of the June 4 incident were repeatedly suppressed; following the seizure of the Tiananmen Square Massacre relief sculpture and the two Goddess of Democracy statues by the Police on grounds that the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China had breached the Places of Public Entertainment Ordinance, the Immigration Department denied the entry of Chen Weiming, the creator of the new Goddess of Democracy statue, to Hong Kong, while The Chinese University of Hong Kong also rejected the request of its Student Union to permanently display the Goddess of Democracy statue on the campus on grounds of political neutrality; the series of incidents have caused worries that the freedom of speech and expression in Hong Kong is being gradually restricted, and the principle of 'One Country, Two Systems' exists in name only; as safeguarding democracy and the rule of law while respecting the freedom of pluralistic expression is one of the core values of Hong Kong people, this Council urges the Government to cease suppression of pro-democracy activities and ensure that people with different political opinions can exercise their lawful right to freedom of speech and expression; this Council also calls upon all universities, being the highest academic institutions in pursuit of academic excellence and truth, to uphold the spirit of pluralism and openness, accommodate different voices and discharge their social and moral responsibilities of defending academic freedom and freedom of expression."
Hon Ronny Tong will move an amendment to Hon Cheung Man-kwong's motion.
Members will also debate a motion on policy on elderly housing. The motion, to be moved by Hon Lau Kong-wah, states, "That, as safe and stable accommodation and environment are fundamental and important elements of the lives of the elderly, and promoting 'ageing in the community' is all the more an important principle and belief of the SAR Government's elderly policy, this Council urges the Government to formulate a targeted, comprehensive and long-term planning policy on elderly housing to meet the challenges arising from an ageing population, which includes:
(a) to examine afresh the current land planning and formulate a comprehensive land policy with sites earmarked for elderly housing purposes;
(b) to actively explore the introduction of the 'mixed use development' concept in private and public housing, and design a residence model which integrates elderly housing and complementary facilities, so as to lay the foundation for building a society of mutual care between the elderly and the young;
(c) making reference to the experience of the Senior Citizen Residences Scheme currently undertaken by the Hong Kong Housing Society, to provide more incentives to encourage developers and non-governmental organisations in possession of land resources, etc. to develop elderly housing projects with complete complementary facilities for living;
(d) to actively encourage the banking and insurance sectors to explore more financial packages, such as 'elderly housing insurance schemes', 'reverse mortgage schemes', etc., with a view to helping the elderly improve their living environment and lives in their twilight years; and
(e) to review the existing policies on welfare and health care services for the elderly to enable those elderly people who choose to live in the Mainland to have peace of mind and enjoy their twilight years there."
Hon Wong Sing-chi, Dr Hon Pan Pey-chyou and Hon Albert Chan will move separate amendments to Hon Lau Kong-wah's motion.
Meanwhile, Hon Tanya Chan will move a resolution under the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance to extend the period for amending the Country Parks (Designation) (Consolidation) (Amendment) Order 2010, laid on the table of the Legislative Council on June 9, 2010, to the first sitting of the next session of the Legislative Council.
Hon Tam Yiu-chung will move a resolution under Article 75 of the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China to resolve that subrule (4) and (6) of Rule 49 of the Rules of Procedure of the Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region be amended.
The Secretary for Labour and Welfare will move a resolution under the Employees' Compensation Ordinance to resolve that, with effect from August 1, 2010, the Employees' Compensation Ordinance (Cap. 282) be amended in the Sixth Schedule.
On bills, the Legal Practitioners (Amendment) Bill 2010, the Matrimonial Proceedings and Property (Amendment) Bill 2010, the Residential Care Homes (Persons with Disabilities) Bill and the Communications Authority Bill will be introduced into the Council for First and Second Readings. Second Reading debates on the bills will be adjourned.
Meanwhile, Members will resume Second Reading on the Deposit Protection Scheme (Amendment) Bill 2010. 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, June 28, 2010
Issued at HKT 17:50
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