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Following is the transcript of remarks by the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, on the concept of parental responsibility after speaking at the Third Children's Issues Forum today (November 13):
Reporter: Do you think the law in Hong Kong is really late as the Law Reform Commission report was actually issued 10 years ago?
Secretary for Labour and Welfare: Certainly not. In the last few years, we have been following up on individual reports. In fact, the Law Reform Commission published four reports on the children proceedings. The first one is on "Guardianship". In fact, we have followed up on the guardianship already and enacted a new ordinance two to three years ago. The second one is on "International Parental Child Abduction". Again we have enacted a new ordinance last year.
Now we come to this very important piece of legislation which is an omnibus bill - consolidating various ordinances, and is a massive and complex exercise. And now we come to the phase of producing a piece of proposed legislation (like a white bill) before the end of this month for public consultation lasting for four months. It is a very important step forward and also aligning Hong Kong's legislation with what is happening elsewhere - in Australia, New Zealand and also the United Kingdom, which is always using the best interests of children as the guiding principle.
(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.)
Ends/Friday, November 13, 2015
Issued at HKT 21:18
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