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The following is issued on behalf of the Legislative Council Secretariat:
The Legislative Council will hold a meeting this Wednesday (July 7) at 11am in the Chamber of the Legislative Council Building. During the meeting, Members will debate a motion on utilising young people's power of civic participation.
The motion, to be moved by Dr Hon Samson Tam, states: "That in recent years, with the development of a knowledge-based society and dawning of the network era, the attitude of young people in Hong Kong towards the discussion of social issues has become increasingly active, and they have gradually become one of the major political commentary groups in society, and the ways of expression and actions of some of these young people have aroused extensive discussions and concerns in the community; some members of the public consider that the Government's lack of effective internal and external communication of information, as well as the obvious inadequacies in its existing consultative framework has affected the formulation of public policies; in this connection, this Council urges the Government to make reference to the relevant experience of other countries or regions to formulate overall objectives and strategies, and allocate sufficient resources to enhance young people's civic participation, as well as:
(a) to formulate a clear public sector information access policy to make public government information and documents, so that members of the public have the right of access to or commenting on them;
(b) to make use of the Web 2.0 interactive platform to enhance direct communication between policy-making government officials and young people, so as to listen to the views of young people;
(c) government officials should change their mentality and mind to bravely deal with interactive communications and accept criticism; and
(d) starting from education and social culture, to allocate resources to enhance the quality of the network citizens, and to promote a way of communication based on reasons, mutual trust and mutual respect, thereby bringing together social wisdom effectively."
Hon Kam Nai-wai, Hon Tanya Chan and Hon Leung Kwok-hung will move amendments to Dr Hon Samson Tam's motion respectively.
Members will debate another motion on enhancing the administration of tax policy in Hong Kong. The motion, to be moved by Hon Paul Chan, says: "That, whereas:
(a) Hong Kong, through its membership of the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes under the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and the comprehensive agreements on avoidance of double taxation to be signed with many countries in the world, is increasingly involved in international taxation matters;
(b) international organisations such as the Group of Twenty (G-20) are proactively developing tax policies for implementation by the member countries and jurisdictions which are actively involved in the global economy and financial system, including Hong Kong;
(c) complementary tax initiatives must be introduced in Hong Kong to facilitate the development of industries with competitive edge and the smooth transformation of the Hong Kong economy;
(d) Hong Kong must compete with other jurisdictions, which offer tax concessions, to attract external investors to establish their regional headquarters in Hong Kong;
(e) tax initiatives can be an effective tool in addressing the problems of economic and social inequalities in Hong Kong; and
(f) the tax base of Hong Kong remains very narrow, posing a risk of instability in public finance, matters relating to the tax policy in Hong Kong have therefore become increasingly complex and important, yet the Administration has so far vested such matters primarily in the Inland Revenue Department (IRD) but its function should be confined to the implementation of tax laws; if IRD is required to undertake in-depth and substantial studies on tax policy, it will encounter a conflict of roles as well as resources constraints; as such, this Council urges the Administration:
(i) to adopt a proactive approach in responding to international agreements on tax initiatives and their requirements, including the tax policies and initiatives introduced by the G-20 and other multilateral international organisations;
(ii) to critically review the existing taxation system with a view to identifying feasible initiatives to enhance the competitiveness of Hong Kong as a regional business centre;
(iii) to study the use of tax initiatives as one of the means to address the problems of social and economic inequalities;
(iv) to study afresh the identification of reasonable and sound initiatives that can broaden the tax base of Hong Kong without undermining its competitiveness; and
(v) to establish a specialist tax policy unit within the government structure, to be staffed by local and international tax experts with the relevant professional knowledge, technical expertise and practical experience, to assist the Administration in undertaking the tasks in (i) to (iv) above, so as to ensure effective formulation of future tax policy in Hong Kong."
Hon Mrs Sophie Leung will move an amendment to Hon Paul Chan's motion respectively.
Members will also debate a motion on the report of the Subcommittee on Poverty Alleviation. The motion to be moved by Hon Frederick Fung, states: "That this Council notes the Report of the Subcommittee on Poverty Alleviation."
Meanwhile, members will move a motion for the adjournment of the Council. The motion, to be moved by Dr Hon Margaret Ng, states: "That this Council do now adjourn for the purpose of debating the following issue: The current arrangement of implementing in Hong Kong sanctions resolved by the Security Council of the United Nations."
On bills, Members will resume Second Reading debates on the Companies (Amendment) Bill 2010 and the Business Registration (Amendment) Bill 2010. If the Bills are supported by Members and receive their Second readings, they will then go through the Committee Stage and be read the Third time.
Meanwhile, the Secretary for Security will move a resolution under the Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Ordinance to seek the Council's approval to the Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters (South Africa) Order, made by the Chief Executive in Council on April 20, 2010. The Secretary for Security will also move a resolution under the United Nations (Anti-Terrorism Measures) Ordinance to seek the Council's approval to the Code of Practice for requiring persons to furnish information or produce material under the new Section 12A of the United Nations (Anti-Terrorism Measures) Ordinance added by Section 12 of the United Nations (Anti-terrorism Measures) (Amendment) Ordinance 2004.
During the meeting, Hon Emily Lau, Chairman of the Finance Committee will present the report of the Finance Committee on the examination of the Estimates of Expenditure 2010-2011 and address the Council. Hon Li Fung-ying, Chairman of the Panel on Manpower; Dr Hon Margaret Ng, Chairman of the Panel on Administration of Justice and Legal Services; Hon Ip Kwok-him, Chairman of the Panel on Home Affairs; Hon Lau Kong-wah, Chairman of the Panel on Security; Hon Tam Yiu-chung, Chairman of the Panel on Constitutional Affairs; Hon Fred Li, Chairman of the Panel on Food Safety and Environmental Hygiene; Hon Cyd Ho, Chairman of the Panel on Education; Hon Lau Wong-fat, Chairman of the Panel on Development and Hon Wong Sing-chi, Chairman of the Panel on Welfare Services; will present the 2009-2010 Reports of the related Panels and address the Council respectively.
In addition, 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, July 5, 2010
Issued at HKT 19:52
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