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The following is issued on behalf of the Legislative Council Secretariat:
The Legislative Council (LegCo) will hold a meeting this Wednesday (October 30) at 11am in the Chamber of the LegCo Complex. During the meeting, Members will debate a motion on adhering to the need to "put Hong Kong people first" in formulating policies.
The motion, to be moved by Mr Gary Fan, states: "That this Council urges the Government to proactively handle China-Hong Kong conflicts, and to adhere to the need to 'put Hong Kong people first' in formulating policies."
Ms Claudia Mo, Mr Kenneth Leung, Mr Michael Tien, Mr Albert Ho, Mr Ip Kwok-him, Mr Lee Cheuk-yan and Dr Fernando Cheung will move separate amendments to Mr Gary Fan's motion.
Mr Chan Chi-chuen will move another motion on transgender marriage. The motion states: "That the Court of Final Appeal (CFA) earlier ruled that transsexual people are entitled to marriage right; the judgment stated that the relevant provisions in the Marriage Ordinance (MO) and the Matrimonial Causes Ordinance (MCO) restricting the criteria for ascertaining a person's gender to merely biological factors are unconstitutional; CFA also held that all circumstances relevant to assessing a person's sexual identity at the time of the proposed marriage, including biological, psychological and social elements and whether any sex reassignment surgery has occurred, need to be considered; in this connection, this Council urges the Government to expeditiously comply with CFA's judgment and amend MO and MCO, so that transgender people can enjoy marriage right and related legal rights according to the sexual identity they adopt, and to expeditiously enact a gender recognition ordinance to address the various legal problems arising from sex reassignment."
Ms Cyd Ho, Dr Helena Wong and Dr Priscilla Leung will move separate amendments to Mr Chan Chi-chuen's motion.
Meanwhile, Mr Andrew Leung will move a proposed resolution under section 34(4) of the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance to extend the period of amending the Post Office (Amendment) Regulation 2013, laid on the table of the LegCo on October 9, 2013, to the meeting of November 27, 2013.
Mr James To will also move a proposed resolution under section 34(4) of the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance to extend the period of amending the Inland Revenue (Double Taxation Relief and Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to Taxes on Income) (Guernsey) Order; the Inland Revenue (Double Taxation Relief and Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to Taxes on Income) (Italian Republic) Order and the Inland Revenue (Double Taxation Relief and Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to Taxes on Income) (State of Qatar) Order, laid on the table of the LegCo on October 9, 2013, to the meeting of November 27, 2013.
Mr Dennis Kwok will move a proposed resolution under section 34(4) of the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance to extend the period of amending the Arbitration (Amendment) Ordinance 2013 (Commencement) Notice, laid on the table of the LegCo on October 16, 2013, to the meeting of December 4, 2013.
On Member's Bill, Members will resume Second Reading debate on the Professional Accountants (Amendment) Bill 2013 proposed by Mr Kenneth Leung. If the Bill is supported by Members and receives its Second Reading, it will then goes through the Committee Stage and be read the Third time.
In addition, the Secretary for the Financial Services and the Treasury will move two proposed resolutions under the Bankruptcy Ordinance to seek the Council's approval to endorse the Bankruptcy (Amendment) Rules 2013 and the Bankruptcy (Fees and Percentages) (Amendment) Order 2013, made by the Chief Justice on June 18, 2013.
The Secretary for the Financial Services and the Treasury will also move two proposed resolutions under the Companies Ordinance to seek the Council's approval to endorse the Companies (Fees and Percentages) (Amendment) Order 2013 and the Companies (Winding-up) (Amendment) Rules 2013, made by the Chief Justice on June 18, 2013.
During the meeting, Members will also ask the Administration 22 questions on various policy areas, six of which require oral replies.
The agenda of the above meeting can be obtained via 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 Chamber of the LegCo Complex. They may reserve seats by calling 3919 3399 during office hours. Seats will be allocated on a first-come-first-served basis. Members of the public can also watch or listen the meeting via the web broadcast system on the LegCo website.
Ends/Monday, October 28, 2013
Issued at HKT 17:06
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