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The following is issued on behalf of the LegCo Secretariat:
The Legislative Council will hold a meeting on Wednesday (July 6) at 11am in the Chamber of the Legislative Council Building. During the meeting, Members will debate a motion on immediately announcing the resumption of the construction of Home Ownership Scheme flats.
The motion, to be moved by Hon Alan Leong, states: "That, given that private residential property prices still continue to rise and the measures introduced by the Government cannot curb the rising trend of property prices, resuming the Home Ownership Scheme (HOS) is of an urgent need; yet, when interviewed by a foreign media organisation earlier on, the Chief Executive even claimed that there was no housing problem in Hong Kong; the relevant remark reflects that the Chief Executive is out of touch with the actual circumstances of the society and unable to grasp the seriousness of the current housing problem; in this connection, this Council opines that the Government should not wait until October to announce the resumption of HOS in the Policy Address, and urges the authorities to share the public's urgent concern by immediately announcing the specific details of resuming HOS, so as to relieve the current housing problem; the relevant details should include:
(a) to use the sites originally earmarked for the My Home Purchase Plan for constructing HOS flats, so as to strive for the completion and supply of flats beginning from 2014;
(b) to delink the pricing of HOS flats from market prices, and use the affordability of eligible persons and construction costs as the basis of pricing;
(c) to use certain former public rental housing sites which have been designated for private development (for example, the eastern and western parts of the ex-North Point Estate, as well as the former Ho Man Tin Estate Redevelopment Phases 2 and 7 sites) for constructing new HOS flats, so as to offer the sandwich class opportunities of continuing to live in the urban areas;
(d) to review the eligibility requirements for HOS applicants in the light of actual circumstances, and consider appropriately raising the income and asset limits for applicants; and
(e) to increase the ratio of white-form applicants (i.e. non-public rental housing tenants)"
Hon Frederick Fung, Hon Lee Wing-tat, Hon Wong Kwok-kin, Hon Chan Kam-lam and Hon Mrs Sophie Leung will move separate amendments to Hon Alan Leong's motion.
Dr Hon Samson Tam will move a motion on studying the establishment of an innovation and technology bureau. The motion, states: "That in the face of the new challenges of the global economy, the development of an Internet-based economy is already an inevitable trend, and innovation and technology have also become a new development strategy of many countries, therefore, Hong Kong, while continuing to develop traditional industries, must formulate afresh a sustainable economic development strategy, so that through the development of new industries including innovation and technology, Hong Kong's competitiveness can be further upgraded; according to the findings of a survey on 'How the Internet is transforming Hong Kong's economy', in 2009, the total value of Hong Kong's Internet economy was already close to HK$100 billion, representing 5.9% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and it is expected that the Internet economy will continue to grow in the future at a rate even higher than the overall GDP growth rate, showing that the Internet economy will help upgrade Hong Kong's competitiveness vis-a-vis its neighbouring countries and cities, and will even become an important segment that can drive Hong Kong's economic progress and development; in order to facilitate the rapid and sustainable development of the Internet economy, the Government's participation and policy support are indispensable key elements; in this connection, this Council urges the Government to:
(a) proactively study the establishment of an innovation and technology bureau specially tasked to co-ordinate and formulate Hong Kong's overall strategy of developing innovation and technology, so as to manifest the Government's determination and commitment in promoting the development of innovation and technology, and upgrade Hong Kong's international status in this respect;
(b) provide preferential policies including land and taxation concessions, etc., to attract more enterprises on the Mainland and overseas, especially large technological enterprises, to come to Hong Kong for development or even set up headquarters in Hong Kong, so as to bring fresh impetus to Hong Kong's Internet economy and create more employment opportunities;
(c) provide local universities and technological research institutes with sufficient resources, and to tie in the relevant policies, so as to train more talents for developing innovation and technology, and promote the productisation of university technological research projects; with the large enterprises from the Mainland and overseas coming to develop in Hong Kong, increase the opportunities for their exchanges with local talents, so as to upgrade the skills, quality and visions of local talents; and
(d) strive for social and public recognition of developing innovation and technology in Hong Kong, so as to create an atmosphere and cultural environment of universal support for promoting innovation and technology and fostering the development of the Internet economy."
Dr Hon Pan Pey-chyou and Hon Emily Lau will move separate amendments to Dr Hon Samson Tam's motion.
Hon Miriam Lau will move a motion under Rule 49E(2) of the Rules of Procedure to take note of Report No.28/10-11 of the House Committee laid on the Table of the Council of July 6, 2011 in relation to the Inland Revenue (Double Taxation Relief and Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to Taxes on Income) (Japan) Order, the Inland Revenue (Double Taxation Relief and Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to Taxes on Income and Capital) (French Republic) Order, the Inland Revenue (Double Taxation Relief and Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to Taxes on Income and Capital) (Principality of Liechtenstein) Order, the Inland Revenue (Double Taxation Relief and Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to Taxes on Income) (New Zealand) Order, and the Specification of Arrangements (Government of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg) (Avoidance of Double Taxation on Income and Capital and Prevention of Fiscal Evasion) (Amendment) Order 2011.
Meanwhile, the Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs will move five proposed resolutions under the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance to amend the Electoral Affairs Commission (Electoral Procedure) (Legislative Council) (Amendment) Regulation 2011, the Electoral Affairs Commission (Electoral Procedure) (District Council) (Amendment) Regulation 2011, the Electoral Affairs Commission (Electoral Procedure) (Election Committee) (Amendment) Regulation 2011, the Electoral Procedure (Chief Executive Election) (Amendment) Regulation 2011 and the Particulars Relating to Candidates on Ballot Papers (Legislative Council and District Councils) (Amendment) Regulation 2011, laid on the table of the Legislative Council on May 18, 2011.
The Secretary for Food and Health will move a proposed resolution under the Pharmacy and Poisons Ordinance to seek the Council's approval to endorse the Pharmacy and Poisons (Amendment) Regulation 2011 and the Poisons List (Amendment) Regulation 2011, made by the Pharmacy and Poisons Board on June 13, 2011.
The Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury will move a proposed resolution under the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance to amend the Professional Accountants (Amendment) Bylaw 2011, laid on the table of the Legislative Council on May 18, 2011.
On Bills, Members will resume Second Reading debates on the Electoral Legislation (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill 2011 and the Supplementary Appropriation (2010-2011) Bill. If the Bills are supported by Members and receive their Second Reading, they will then go through the Committee Stage and be read the Third time.
During the meeting, Hon Tommy Cheung, Chairman of the Panel on Panel on Food Safety and Environmental Hygiene and Hon Cheung Kwok-che, Chairman of the Panel on Welfare Services will present the 2010-2011 Reports of the related Panels and address the Council respectively.
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 LegCo InfoFax Service (Tel: 2869 9568) or the LegCo website ( www.legco.gov.hk ). Please note that the agenda is subject to change, and the latest information about the agenda could be found in the LegCo website.
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 4, 2011
Issued at HKT 19:49
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