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The following is issued on behalf of the Legislative Council Secretariat:
Mr Jasper Tsang, President of the Legislative Council (LegCo), described the operation of LegCo over the past year as normal and smooth, and Government motions which garnered greater support in the community were passed by the Council. He also said that more communication and interaction between Members and Mainland officials were beneficial to all the parties concerned.
Speaking at the President's end-of-session media briefing today (July 22), Mr Tsang said that it was Members who decided whether Government motions introduced to the Council should be passed. If the Government did not carry out the consultation work thoroughly or did not have an effective and full discussion with Members on either legislative and financial proposals, the relevant motions might not be passed. Over the past year, he said if the Government's proposals were by and large supported by the society, they were passed eventually by the Council even though Members might have some disagreements on the proposals during the course of deliberation, and the Old Age Living Allowance was one of such examples.
Mr Tsang said, "I believe that Members have reflected the public sentiment dutifully and responsibly. Therefore, I do not see Members trying to block the passage of any proposals which are expected to be passed."
He also said that the current system did not provide the Administration with a strong and reliable majority support in the Council. However, as both branches had to respect and consider the public sentiment, the relationship between the Executive Authorities and the Legislature "can be neither be too good nor too bad".
Regarding the recent luncheon between LegCo Members and the officials of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (Liaision Office), Mr Tsang said he was satisfied with the luncheon as it had achieved a breakthrough in respect of the communication between Members and the Liaison Office officials. He pointed out that LegCo and the Liaison Office had respective roles and functions to play in the implementation of the "One country, Two systems" principle and also in maintaining Hong Kong's stability and prosperity. More exchanges of views and communications would be beneficial to all. He said, "As long as both sides share the same wish and understand that dialogues and interaction are important, I believe the development will bring forth a positive outcome."
Mr Tsang pointed out that "filibustering" was not unique in Hong Kong as it was quite a common practice in other legislatures. He said that on the one hand Members should not be deprived of the right to filibuster, but on the other hand if there was no restrain in this regard, the Council would be "hijacked" by a few Members, and so there was a need to strike a balance.
During the 2012-2013 session, a total of 14 Government bills were passed by LegCo, of which five were passed with amendments. Members have also completed the scrutiny of 117 items of subsidiary legislation through negative vetting procedure and seven of the items were amended by resolution of the Council. The Council also passed a total of 18 motions either to approve or amend subsidiary legislation through positive vetting procedure.
Besides, Members moved four motions seeking to invoke the Legislative Council (Powers and Privileges) Ordinance (Cap.382) to confer powers on the LegCo, and one motion on charging the Chief Executive with serious breaches of law and/or dereliction of duty under Article 73(9) of the Basic Law, and all of which were negatived. Moreover, the Council also dealt with a petition presented at a Council meeting under Rule 20(1) of the Rules of Procedure, and the petition had been referred to a Select Committee.
A total of 51 motions not intended to have legislative effect were debated by Members, and among these, two were passed without any amendment, 26 were passed with amendments, and the remaining 23 were negatived. Besides, a total of three adjournment motions were moved by Members. On questions, Members asked a total of 145 oral questions, including one urgent question, and followed with 907 supplementary questions. In addition, another 473 questions seeking written replies by the Government were also asked by Members.
Ends/Monday, July 22, 2013
Issued at HKT 22:57
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