Madam President,

I move that the Adaptation of Laws (References to foreign country, etc.) Bill be read the second time. The Bill aims to adapt references to "foreign", "overseas", and "abroad", and to corresponding Chinese texts, in the laws of Hong Kong.

The Hong Kong Reunification Ordinance, enacted by this Council on 1 July 1997, has added a new Schedule 8 to the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance (Cap. 1) to provide for the construction on and after 1 July 1997 of words and expressions in the laws previously in force in Hong Kong. Item 19 of the new Schedule 8 provides that any reference to a foreign country or foreign state (or to similar terms or expressions) shall be construed as a reference to "a country or territory other than the People's Republic of China" or as a reference to "any place other than the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region", depending on the content of the relevant law. It is necessary to examine the relevant content and clarify the exact meaning of each reference in the relevant law. Without the necessary adaptation, confusion and misunderstanding may arise as to how these references should be interpreted.

The object of the Bill is to introduce necessary adaptations to references to "foreign", "overseas" and "abroad", and to corresponding Chinese texts, in the laws of Hong Kong, to ensure conformity with the Basic Law, the Decision of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress made on 23 February 1997 which relates to the laws previously in force in Hong Kong and their interpretation principles, and the status of Hong Kong as a Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China. It covers almost all the references to the three terms in the local laws. It does not, however, include a small number of ordinances which will be subject to comprehensive review or repeal. Nor does it deal with ordinances relating to the operation of individual non-governmental organisations.

The Bill proposes to add new definitions such as "foreign country", "foreign state", and "foreign currency". It also proposes to replace the references to "foreign", "overseas" or "abroad" by their exact meaning wherever they appear in the law. This is because these terms vary in meaning depending on the contexts where they appear. To set out the exact meaning of such references will avoid unnecessary confusion and misunderstanding.

The Bill is deemed to have come into operation on 1 July 1997, except in areas involving criminal liability. This is to tie in with the effective date of the interpretation principles stipulated in the Hong Kong Reunification Ordinance, which came into operation on 1 July 1997.

Madam President, this Bill is essential for the clarification of meaning of references to "foreign", "overseas" and "abroad" in the laws and is important for the smooth operation of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. It removes uncertainties and ambiguities in the interpretation of laws. I commend it to this Council for early passage into law.